UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

E.   W.    HILGARD,    DIRECTOR 


OLIVES 


F.  T.  BIOLETTI  and  GEO.  E.  COLBY 


Mission  Olive  of  Califoenia  (single  olive  natural  size) 


BULLETIN   123 


BERKELEY 

Ubc  "University  ipvess 

January,  1899 


OLIVES 

CULTIVATION,  OIL-MAKING,  PICKLING,  DISEASES 

By  V.  T.   Bioletti 


VARIETIES  AND  THEIR  ADAPTATION 

By  Geo.  E.  Colby 


OLIVES. 


CULTIVATION,  OIL-MAKING,    PICKLING,    DISEASES. 


By  F.  T.  Bioletti. 


Nearly  all  of  the  publications  of  this  station  relating  to  olives  and 
olive-growing  having  been  destroyed  in  the  burning  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Building,  there  are  none  now  available  for  distribution.  The 
present  bulletin,  therefore,  .has  been  prepared  in  answer  to  the  numer- 
ous inquiries  that  are  continually  received.  It  is  not  intended  as  a 
manual  of  olive-growing  but  only  as  a  convenient  summary,  covering 
the  main  points  about  which  inquiries  have  been  received. 

Cultivation. 

Climate. — The  olive  is  a  native  of  Southern  Europe  and  has  been 
cultivated  in  nearly  all  the  countries  surrounding  the  Mediterranean 
from  time  immemorial.  From  there  it  has  spread  to  various  countries 
which  offer,  like  California,  similar  climatic  conditions.  It  requires 
an  average  yearly  temperature  somewhat  higher  than  is  required  by 
the  vine,  and  will  not  withstand  so  low  a  temperature  as  the  latter.  It 
is  dangerous  to  plant  olive  trees  in  any  region  where  the  temperature 
often  falls  below  20°  F.  Some  varieties  will  withstand  15°  F.,  but 
only  for  a  short  time;  and  the  young  wood  of  many  varieties  is 
injured  even  above  this  temperature.  At  10°  F.  the  whole  tree  is 
destroyed.  In  spring,  after  the  new  growth  has  started,  much  less 
cold  than  the  above  is  harmful.  On  account  of  its  need  of  an  even 
climate  the  olive  is  seldom  cultivated  successfully  more  than  one 
hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  and  succeeds  best  where  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  coldest  month  does  not  fall  below  43°  F. 

Soil . — The  olive  needs  a  light,  well- drained  soil,  and  either  does 
not  succeed,  or  gives  fruit  of  poor  quality,  on  heavy,  clayey,  or  ill- 
drained  soils.  It  is  especially  suited  to  sandy  or  loam  soils  rich  in 
lime,  and  will  grow  in  soils  so  rocky  that  nothing  else  but  a  vine 
could  succeed  in.  them.  It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that  the 
olive  will  give  profitable  crops  in  poor  soils;  such  soils  must  be  well 
fertilized  to  insure  good  growth  of  the  young  trees  and  good  crops 
on  the  old. 

The  olive  requires  less  water  than  most  cultivated  trees,  on  account 
of  its  light  foliage,  and  of  its  strong  root  system  which  penetrates  to  a 


great  depth  even  in  very  rocky  subsoils,  if  well  drained.  Where  the 
rainfall  is  very  light,  however,  irrigation  is  necessary.  It  must  not  be 
excessive,  and  the  water  level  must  be  kept  low,  otherwise  the  quality 
of  the  crop  will  be  inferior  and  the  trees  more  subject  to  disease. 

Propagation. — Olives  are  generally  propagated  by  cuttings.  There 
are  several  different  methods,  but  the  following  probably  gives  the 
best  results: — Young  shoots,  several  inches  long,  are  cut  from  strong, 
vigorous  trees  with  a  sharp  knife.  They  should  be  cut  as  soon  as 
their  wood  is  fairly  well  hardened,  but  not  too  late  in  the  season;  and 
all  the  leaves  should  be  removed,  except  two  or  three  at  the  top. 
They  should  be  planted  immediately  in  shallow  boxes  of  sand, 
placed  in  a  greenhouse  or  a  warm  shady  place  and  kept  moderately 
moist.  In  three  or  four  months  most  of  them  will  be  well  rooted,  and 
should  be  transplanted  to  pots  or  to  a  nursery  where  they  will  receive 
more  sun.  Here  they  should  remain  for  three  or  four  months  longer 
and  are  then  ready  to  be  planted  in  place.  It  is  best  not  to  plant 
them  too  early  in  the  spring,  before  the  soil  has  been  well  warmed; 
and  care  must  be  taken  during  the  first  year  that  they  do  not  dry  out. 

An  olive  orchard  may  be  brought  into  bearing  a  year  earlier  by 
using  larger  cuttings  of  old  wood,  but  the  trees  are  seldom  so  strong 
and  are  much  more  uneven  than  by  the  foregoing  method.  The  cut- 
tings or  truncheons  in  this  case  are  taken  in  December  or  January  from 
branches  two  or  three  inches  thick,  and  are  cut  about  twenty  to  thirty 
inches  long.  They  should  be  made  only  from  strong  healthy  wood 
with  sound  bark.  They  should  be  cut  so  that  they  have  knots  at  the 
base,  as  this  favors  the  production  of  roots.  Great  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  bruise  them,  and  all  the  shoots  should  be  removed,  except 
a  few  at  the  top.  They  should  then  be  planted  in  a  nursery  of 
very  light  sandy  soil,  being  buried  about  two-thirds  of  their  length 
and  the  soil  tightly  packed  around  them.  The  top  ends  of  the 
cuttings  should  be  coated  with  pitch,  and,  if  the  weather  is  hot  or  dry, 
the  nurses  should  be  shaded  until  the  cuttings  begin  to  throw  out 
shoots.  A  very  thorough  watering  should  be  given  the  ground  im- 
mediately after  planting,  and  the  soil  must  never,  be  allowed  to  get 
dry  until  the  cuttings  are  well  rooted.  A  certain  portion  of  the 
cuttings  will  fail  to  grow  with  the  best  of  care,  and  many  will  remain 
dormant  for  one  or  two  years.  Those  which  grow  well,  however,  are 
ready  for  planting-out  in  the  orchard  the  following  season. 

Another  method  commonly  practiced  is  to  cut  sections  of  large 
branches  one  or  two  feet  long,  split  them  in  two  and  then  to  bury  the 
halves  horizontally,  with  the  bark  up,  about  three  inches  deep  in  the 
nursery.  If  the  soil  of  the  nursery  is  warm,  light  and  well  drained 
and  kept  rather  moist,  a  large  number  of  shoots  will  in  a  few  months 
start  from  the  buried  sections  and  come  through  the  soil.  When 
these  shoots  have  become  firm,  but  are  still  growing,  they  are  cut  off, 
with  a  sharp  knife,  as  close  as  possible  to  the  old  wood  and  planted  in 
the  same  manner  as  described  above  for  the  young  shoots  taken 
directly  from  the  trees. 

One  of  the  commonest  methods  of  propagation,  used  especially  in 
Italy,  is  by  means  of  "uovoli".  This  is  the  name  given  to  the  knot- 
like   swellings   that    occur   very   plentifully  on  the    trunk   of   many 


varieties,  especially  near  the  base,  and  on  the  exposed  parts  of  the 
main  roots.  They  are  masses  of  dormant  buds,  and  receive  their  name 
from  their  resemblance  in  shape,  after  removal,  to  eggs.  They  should 
be  cut  out  carefully,  and  the  places  from  which  they  are  removed 
painted  over  with  pitch.  They  are  generally  removed  in  November, 
and  in  frostless  localities  may  be  planted  immediately.  If  necesssary, 
they  may  be  kept  for  three  or  four  months  in  a  dark  cool  place,  buried 
in  sand  and  planted  in  the  nursery  when  danger  of  frost  is  past.  The 
"uovoli"  are  planted  three  or  four  inches  deep  in  a  sandy  soil,  and  of 
the  many  shoots  which  start  from  each,  only  the  strongest  is  allowed 
to  grow.  They  are  ready  to  plant  out  in  place  in  two  or  three  years. 
This  method  of  propagation,  at  one  time  common,  is  being  gradually 
abandoned,  as,  besides  injuring  the  trees  from  which  the  "uovoli"  are 
taken,  it  results  in  poorly  rooted,  short-lived  trees,  which  are  inordi- 
nately prone  to  produce  suckers. 

The  strongest,  heaviest-bearing,  and  longest-lived  trees  are  those 
grown  from  seed.  Seedlings  have  a  stronger  and  more  deep-seated 
root  system,  and  grow  into  more  regular  and  more  hardy  trees  than 
those  grown  from  cuttings.  The  only  objection  to  their  use  is  that 
they  require  several  years  longer  time  before  commencing  to  bear. 
With  care  and  intelligent  cultivation  however  this  delay  can  be  reduced 
to  one  or  two  years,  and  the  larger  crops  and  healthier  trees  resulting, 
will  more  than  compensate  ultimately  for  the  loss  of  time. 

The  flesh  of  the  olive  should  be  removed  before  planting  the  pits. 
This  is  commonly  done  by  piling  the  fruit  in  heaps  and  allowing  it 
to  decay,  after  which  the  pits  can  be  easily  removed  by  washing. 
Many  of  the  seeds  of  most  varieties  will  not  germinate.  These  are 
separated  by  placing  all  the  pits  in  water  and  rejecting  those  which 
float.  The  pits  may  be  planted  immediately,  or  if  there  is  danger  of 
frost,  kept  in  dry  sand  until  spring.  The  pits  must  be  cracked  before 
sowing,  or  they  will  remain  two  years  in  the  ground  before  germina- 
ting. This  must  be  done  very  carefully,  in  order  not  to  injure  the 
kernel;  special  instruments  have  been  made  for  this  purpose  which 
work  very  well.  Instead  of  cracking  the  pits  they  may  be  placed  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  a  lye  solution  containing  half  a  pound  of  caustic 
soda  to  one  gallon  of  water.  This  softens  the  shell  so  that  it  soon 
decays  in  the  soil  and  allows  the  young  seedling  to  push  through. 
The  pits  should  then  be  sown  in  a  sandy  bed  heavily  fertilized  with 
thoroughly  rotted  manure.  They  are  placed  every  three  inches  in 
little  drills  which  are  made  six  inches  apart.  Enough  well  rotted 
manure  should  be  placed  in  the  drills  to  cover  and  surround  the  pits, 
and  the  whole  covered  with  soil  to  the  depth  of  one  inch.  The  beds 
should  be  well  watered  until  the  seedlings  start ;  after  which  less  water 
should  be  used.  When  the  seedlings  have  developed  five  or  six  leaves 
they  should  be  transplanted  to  the  nursery,  the  roots  at  the  same  time 
being  cut  back  to  about  half  their  length.  The  olive,  like  all  ever- 
green trees,  is  likely  to  suffer  from  transplanting,  unless  care  is  taken 
to  remove  the  young  plant  with  an  adhering  ball  of  earth.  This  is 
facilitated  by  the  manure  which  is  placed  around  the  seed  when 
planted. 

The  seedlings  always  revert  more  or  less  to  the  wild  plant  or  type; 
so  that  it  is  necessary  to  graft  or  bud  them  with  the  variety  which  it 


is  desired  to  propagate.  This  may,  in  very  favorable  cases,  be  done 
the  spring  after  planting,  bnt  usually  they  are  not  large  enough  until 
after  the  second  spring.  Two-year-old  wood  should  be  used  for  graft- 
ing, and  the  grafts  put  in  at  the  neck  of  the  roots,  just  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground. 

The  ordinary  wedge- graft  is  usually  used,  and  the  union  should  be 
carefully  tied  up  and  covered  with  grafting  wax.  The  soil  is  then 
piled  up  around  the  graft  until  only  two  eyes  are  exposed.  If  the 
seedlings  are  large  and  have  thick  bark  they  may  be  budded  in  the 
stem  just  above  the  ground.  One  year  after  grafting  or  budding,  the 
trees  are  ready  for  planting-out  in  their  permanent  places  in  the 
orchard. 

It  is  customary  to  leave  the  young  trees  for  several  years  in  the 
nursery  before  planting  them  out,  but  as  an  old  plant  suffers  from 
transplanting  much  more  than  a  young  one,  it  is  much  better  to  do  it 
earlier.  The  greatest  attention,  however,  must  be  given  to  the  young 
trees  for  the  first  few  years.  They  should  be  thoroughly  cultivated, 
manured,  and  whenever  necessary,  watered. 

Pruning. — Though  olive  trees  are  grown  in  some  districts  without 
pruning,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  intelligent  pruning  increases  the 
regularity,  quantity,  and  quality  of  the  crop.  Heavy  pruning  at 
intervals  of  several  years  is  practiced  very  commonly,  but  results  in 
irregular  bearing  and  renders  the  trees  more  susceptible  to  disease. 
The  system  which  gives  the  best  results  from  all  points  of  view  is  a 
moderate  pruning  every  year.  Two  main  objects  should  be  kept  in 
view  in  pruning:  1.  To  give  the  tree  the  most  convenient  form. 
2.  To  cause  it  to  produce  as  large  a  crop  each  year  as  is  consistent 
with  the  quality  of  the  fruit  and  the  health  of  the  tree. 

For  the  smallest-growing  varieties  the  tree  should  branch  out 
about  3  feet  from  the  soil,  and  should  be  given  a  spherical  bush- like  top. 
For  the  stronger  and  larger  growers  the  trunk  should  be  4  or  5  feet 
high,  and  the  branches  should  grow  in  "goblet"  form.  The  object  is 
to  give  every  part  of  the  tree,  as  nearly  as  possible,  an  equal  amount 
of  air  and  light,  and  to  give  it  the  form  that  best  facilitates  gathering 
the  crop.  It  should  always  be  kept  in  mind  that  any  part  that  is 
unduly  shaded  will  fail  to  produce  fruit. 

All  the  fruit  of  the  olive  is  borne  on  two-year-old  wood,  and  the 
same  wood  never  bears  twice.  That  is,  the  crop  of  this  year  is  borne 
on  the  shoots  that  grew  last  year,  and  the  next  year's  crop  will  be 
borne  on  the  shoots  that  develop  this  year.  For  this  reason  a  new 
crop  of  shoots  each  year  is  essential  to  regular  bearing. 

The  art  of  pruning  can  be  learned  only  by  practice  and  experience ; 
but  it  will  be  found  useful  to  keep  the  following  points  in  mind :  Cut 
away  all  dead  or  diseased  twigs  or  branches;  thin  out  wherever  the 
branches  are  too  close;  cut  back  the  branches  that  tend  to  grow  too 
long,  in  order  to  make  them  send  out  side  shoots  for  fruiting  wood. 
It  should  also  be  kept  in  mind  that  heavy  pruning  confines  the  sap  to 
fewer  outlets,  and  results  in  the  production  of  vigorous  sterile  or 
wood-bearing  shoots;  while  light  pruning,  leaving  a  larger  number  of 
buds,  results  in  a  large  number  of  weaker  and  more  fertile  shoots. 
A  tree,  therefore,  which  has  sent  out  an  inordinate  number  of  sterile 


shoots,  should  not  be  cut  back  much,  while  a  tree  that  has  been 
enfeebled  by  too  large  a  crop  must  be  heavily  pruned. 

When  a  tree  has  been  properly  pruned  from  the  beginning,  it  is 
seldom  necessary  to  remove  anything  but  small  twigs,  or  to  make 
large  wounds.  When,  however,  on  account  of  improper  pruning,  or  of 
great  age  of  the  tree,  all  the  main  branches  of  the  tree  have  become 
bare,  and  all  the  fruit-bearing  wood  has  disappeared  from  the  center  of 
the  tree,  it  is  necessary  to  cut  back  even  the  largest  branches.  This, 
however,  should  be  done  gradually,  or  the  tree  will  be  injured  by  a  too 
sudden  curtailment  of  the  leaves  which  are  its  feeding  organs.  A 
heavy  pruning  should  be  given  the  first  year,  sufficient  to  force  out 
shoots  from  the  lower  parts  of  the  branches.  The  next  year  the  most 
vigorous  and  best  situated  of  these  shoots  should  be  chosen  to  replace 
the  old  branches,  and  the  latter  cut  back  still  further.  A  branch  of 
any  size  should  not  be  cut  back  too  close  to  the  old  wood,  even  when 
it  is  intended  to  suppress  it  completely,  as  there  is  danger  of  injury  to 
the  main  branches  or  trunk  by  drying  out  of  the  wood.  Whenever  a 
large  cut  is  made,  for  any  reason,  it  should  be  painted  over  with 
pitch,  or  some  similar  substance,  to  diminish  evaporation  and  to  pre- 
vent the  growth  of  fungi. 

Grafting  and  Budding — It  has  already  been  stated  that  when  an 
olive  tree  is  raised  from  seed,  it  reverts  more  or  less  to  the  wild  form, 
and  produces  fruit  which  is  generally  unsuited  for  either  oil-making  or 
pickling.  To  have  the  desired  quality  of  fruit,  therefore,  it  must  be 
grafted  or  budded  with  a  better  variety.  The  method  of  doing  this 
with  young  trees  has  already  been  described  under  the  head  of  propa- 
gation. The  olive  may  be  grafted  by  almost  any  of  the  methods  used 
for  other  fruit  trees ;  but  they  are  not  to  be  recommended  except  when , 
as  in  the  case  of  young  seedlings,  the  graft  can  be  made  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  For  large  trees,  when  it  is  desired  to  change 
the  variety,  budding  is  to  be  preferred. 

Budding  succeeds  well  if  done  at  the  right  time  and  under  the 
proper  conditions.  The  essential  points  are  that  the  bud  must  be 
taken  from  good  healthy  wood,  and  inserted  in  a  vigorous  shoot.  Most 
of  the  failures  in  budding  result  from  using  a  shoot  of  low  vitality  as 
a  stock.  In  order  to  insure  shoots  of  sufficient  vigor  to  start  a  bud, 
the  tree  which  is  to  be  budded  should  be  pruned  severely  the  year 
before.  If  the  tree  is  large  it  is  advisable  to  cut  back  only  half  the 
branches  the  first  year.  The  following  spring  the  pruned  branches 
will  send  out  a  number  of  vigorous  shoots,  the  best  of  which  may  be 
budded.  The  following  winter  the  rest  of  the  branches  should  be  cut 
back  and  the  budding  completed  the  second  summer.  In  this  way  the 
tree  does  not  receive  so  rude  a  shock  as  if  all  the  branches  were  cut 
back  the  same  year. 

The  ordinary  T-bud  succeeds  very  well  on  the  olive,  though  some 
prefer  the  shield-bud.  For  the  scion  a  dormant  bud  in  the  axil  of  a 
leaf  may  be  taken,  as  is  usually  done  for  other  plants.  With  the 
olive,  however,  twig-buds  are  more  successful.  The  twig- bud  is  cut 
from  the  parent  plant  as  shown  in  Fig.  1.  It  must  be  cut  deeply  with 
a  sharp  knife  and  part  of  the  wood  removed  before  insertion  in  the 
stock.     Also  about  two- thirds  of  each  leaf  on  the  twig-bud  should  be 


8 

cut  off  to  prevent  drying  ont  by  too  much  evaporation.     The  bud  is 
inserted  in  the  usual  way  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  and  tied  by  winding  a 


Fig.  1.— Twig-Bud  as  cut.  Fig.  2.— Twig-Bud  inserted. 

(Dotted  lines  show  manner 
of  tying.) 

cotton  string  tightly  around  the  stock  both  above  and  below  the  bud 
so  as  to  cover  up  all  the  cut  parts.  Three  or  four  weeks  later  the  string 
should  be  removed  and  the  stock  topped.  If  the  union  has  been 
effected  the  bud  can  be  left  to  itself,  simply  cutting  off  the  whole  of 
the  stock  above  the  bud  as  soon  as  the  latter  has  developed  sufficient 
leaves. 

Budding  may  be  done  at  any  time  when  the  sap  is  flowing  freely, 
but  is  most  successful  if  done  in  the  early  summer  or  spring.  «If  done 
too  late  the  buds  fail  to  start  until  the  following  spring,  and  are  apt 
to  dry  out. 

Gathering  the  Fruit. 

Picking  Olives. — Whether  olives  are  to  be  used  for  pickling  or  oil- 
making,  it  is  very  important  that  they  should  be  picked  carefully  and 
at  the  right  time.  For  green  pickles  they  should  be  picked  very  soon 
after  they  obtain  full  size,  but  before  they  have  begun  to  color  or 
soften. 

For  ripe  pickles  they  should  be  gathered  at  the  same  stage  of  ripe- 
ness as  for  oil-making;  that  is,  when  they  contain  the  maximum 
amount  of  oil.  This  is  soon  after  they  are  well  colored,  but  before 
they  have  attained  the  deep  black  which  signifies  over-ripeness.  If  the 
olives  are  gathered  too  green  the  oil  will  be  bitter,  if  too  ripe  it  will  be 
rancid.  On  account  of  the  different  degrees  of  color  in  different 
varieties  of  olives,  it  is  difficult  to  tell  from  their  appearance  when 
they  should  be  gathered.  When  they  can  be  easily  shaken  from  the 
tree  they  are  ripe  enough.  If  thej^  commence  to  fall  without  vigorous 
shaking  they  are  over-ripe.  For  whatever  purpose  the  olives  are  to  be 
used  they  should  be  carefully  gathered  by  hand.  Rakes  or  sticks  should 
never  be  used,  as  they  bruise  the  fruit  and  break  off  a  great  deal  of 
the  fruit-shoots  needed  for  the  following  year.  It  is  well  to  sort  the 
olives  as  they  are  being  picked,  separating  out  the  bruised,  diseased, 


9 

or  under-ripe  fruit.  When  the  olives  are  for  oil-making  they  should 
be  washed  before  being  crushed  or  dried,  unless  they  are  very  clean, 
for  the  road  dust  and  sooty  mold  that  often  covers  them  have  a 
deleterious  effect  on  the  quality  of  the  oil. 

Oil-Making. 

Drying  and  Crushing. — The  best  oil  is  made  by  crushing  the  care- 
fully-picked olives  as  soon  as  possible  after  they  are  taken  from  the 
tree,  and  while  they  are  still  perfectly  fresh.  If  they  are  bruised,  or  if 
they  are  in  the  slightest  degree  moldy  when  crushed,  the  resulting 
oil  will  be  correspondingly  inferior  in  quality. 

The  extraction  of  oil  from  fresh  olives  is,  however,  somewhat 
troublesome,  and  in  order  to  facilitate  the  work  it  is  customary  to 
deprive  them  of  a  certain  part  of  their  water  before  crushing.  This 
partial  drying  is  also  useful  when  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  fruit  for 
some  time  before  crushing  or  to  ship  them  to  any  distance.  It  is  gen- 
erally done  by  placing  them  in  layers  not  more  than  three  inches  deep, 
on  trays  that  are  stacked  in  a  dry,  well- aired  room,  protected  from  the 
wind  and  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  The  olives  are  turned  over  daily 
until  they  become  well  wrinkled.  This  requires  about  eight  or  ten 
days,  according  to  the  degree  of  temperature.  If  the  partially  dried 
fruit  cannot  then  be  crushed  immediately,  it  must  be  stored  in  a  dark 
room  where  the  temperature  does  not  rise  above  60°  F.  Here  it 
may  remain  three  or  four  weeks  longer  without  any  serious  deteriora- 
tion of  the  quality  of  the  oil.  In  order  to  hasten  the  drying  process, 
artificial  driers,  constructed  on  the  same  principle  as  the  fruit  or  hop 
driers,  are  sometimes  used.  The  olives  are  placed  in  a  single  layer 
upon  trays,  and  the  drier  is  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about  120°  F. 
If  the  temperature  rises  over  130°  F.  the  quality  of  the  oil  will  be 
impaired.  The  drying  takes  about  forty- eight  hours — more  or  less — 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  fruit.  The  olives  must  be  crushed 
immediately  upon  removal  from  the  drier. 

The  crushing  is  still  commonly  done  by  means  of  old-fashioned 
stone  mills.  They  are  slow,  cumbersome,  and  irregular  in  their 
action.  Moreover,  almost  all  kinds  of  stone  that  are  used  for  these 
mills  absorb  a  certain  amount  of  oil,  which  it  is  impossible  to  remove 
completely.  This  oil  becomes  rancid  and  taints  the  olives  that  are 
being  crushed.  Crushers,  with  corrugated  bronze  or  bronzed  metal 
rollers,  are  now  made  that  perform  their  work  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner,  breaking  up  the  flesh  and  pits  very  thoroughly.  As  they  are 
all  of  metal  they  absorb  no  oil  and  are  easily  cleaned.  It  is  very 
essential  that  the  flesh  should  be  crushed  thoroughly  in  order  to  break 
up  the  cells  and  permit  the  oil  to  be  pressed  out. 

Some  oil-makers  prefer  to  pit  the  olives  before  crushing,  in  order  to 
separate  the  oil  in  the  flesh  from  that  in  the  pit.  Machines  for  this 
purpose  have  been  made,  but  are  little  used.  The  amount  of  oil  con- 
tained in  the  pit  is  very  slight,  and  is  inferior  in  quality  to  that  in  the 
flesh,  as  it  is  much  more  prone  to  become  rancid.  Many  varieties, 
notably  the  Mission,  contain  a  particularly  minute  quantity  of  oil  in 
the  pits,  and,  as  luckily  a  very  small  proportion  even  of  this  minute 
quantity  can  be  expressed,  there  is  little  danger,  usually,  in  crushing 
the  pits  and  flesh  together.     No  method,  moreover,   seems  to  have 


10 


been  devised  as  yet  that  will  at  one  operation  sufficiently  crush  the 
flesh  while  leaving  the  pit  intact. 

Pressing. — As  soon  as  the  olives  have  passed  through  the  mill  or 
crusher  they  should  be  pressed.  For  this  purpose  an  extremely  pow- 
erful screw  or  hydraulic  press 
is  necessary.  Fig.  3  shows 
one  that  has  been  used  with 
success  at  the  Experiment 
Station .  The  mass  of  crushed 
olives  should  be  placed  in  the 
press  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  will  constitute  a  series  of 
layers,  each  of  which  can 
drain  off  horizontally  as  the 
pressure  is  supplied.  This  is 
accomplished,  among  other 
ways,  by  means  of  wooden 
gratings  and  pieces  of  very 
strong  cloth,  or  sacking, 
placed  between  the  layers. 
Circular  grass  mats,  used 
extensively  in  Europe,  are 
very  convenient,  but  as  yet 
too  expensive  in  California. 
The  pressure  must  be  applied 
very  gradually.  From  the 
liquid  which  runs  out  first, 
with  gentle  pressure,  is  made 
the  very  finest  oil,  known  as 
"virgin  oil."  The  pressure  is 
then  increased  very  gradually 
until  the  full  power  of  the 
machine  is  reached.  This 
presses  out  the  second  quality 
of  oil  which  is  generally 
mixed  with  the  first.  After 
obtaining  all  the  oil  possible 
by  the  first  pressure,  the 
"cheese"  is  taken  out,  thoroughly  broken  up  in  hot  water,  and  again 
pressed.  This  yields  the  third  quality,  which  is  verj^  much  inferior  to 
the  first  and  second.  Sometimes  the  "cheese"  from  the  first  pressing  is 
thoroughly  broken  up  with  cold  water  and  pressed  again  before  being 
treated  with  hot  water.  In  this  way  a  little  oil  is  obtained  that  differs 
little  from  the  second  quality,  and  may  be  mixed  with  it.  After  this,  a 
certain  amount  of  oil  still  remains  in  the  "cheese,"  but  it  can  be 
extracted  only  by  very  powerful  hydraulic  presses,  or  by  chemical 
means,  and  is  then  of  very  inferior  quality  and  suitable  only  for  burn- 
ing or  for  soap-making. 

Separation  of  the  Oil. — The  liquid  that  runs  from  the  press  contains, 
besides  the  oil,  the  watery  juices  of  the  fruit  and  a  considerable  amount 


Fig.  3.— Oil  Press. 


11 


of  pulpy  solid  matter.  The  separation  of  the  oil  is  usually  effected 
by  allowing  the  press-liquid  to  settle  in  tinned  vessels  until  the  oil, 
rising  to  the  top,  can  be  skimmed  off.  The  use  of  the  apparatus  shown 
in   Fig.  4  is  a  great  improvement  over  this  method.     It  makes  the 


Fig.  4.— Oil  Separator. 

separation  of  the  oil  almost  instantaneous,  and  improves  the  quality 
by  doing  away  with  the  prolonged  contact  of  the  oil  with  the  air  and 
the  impurities  of  the  liquid.  The  juices  from  the  press  flow  into  a  tube, 
which  opens  into  a  small  "drum"  near  the  bottom  of  the  tank  which  is 
kept  constantly  full  of  water.  The  drum  is  perforated  at  the  sides  in 
order  to  allow  the  press-liquid  to  escape  horizontally.  Immediately 
below  this  drum  is  another  larger  one,  perforated  on  top,  through  which 
water  is  forced  in  vertical  jets.  The  water  and  press-liquid  are  thus 
thoroughly  mixed  in  constant  agitation.  This  results  in  the  rapid 
deposition  of  the  heavy  impurities,  and  the  equally  rapid  rise  of  the 
small,  light  oil-drops.  The  oil  very  quickly  forms  a  layer  on  top  and 
can  be  drawn  off  by  means  of  a  faucet  appropriately  placed.  The 
apparatus  is  continuous  in  its  operation,  and  the  oil  is  obtained  free 
from  all  the  grosser  impurities.  It  is  still,  however,  very  cloudy,  owing 
to  the  presence  of  small,  light  particles  of  vegetable  matter. 


12 


Clarification. — The  oil  must  be  made  as  bright  as  possible  before 
being  put  upon  the  market.     This  can  be  done  by  various  methods  of 

nitration.  Filtration,  however,  dimin- 
ishes the  freshness  and  aroma  of  the 
oil  and  injures  the  qualities  that  dis- 
tinguish a  fine  olive  oil  from  the  clear, 
neutral  oils  extracted  from  cotton- 
seed. This  is  especially  true  of  such 
filtering  media  as  charcoal,  which 
exert  some  absorbent  influence  upon 
the  oil,  diminishing  its  flavor.  The 
best  method  of  clearing,  for  oil  as  for 
wine,  is  by  simple  settling  and  decan- 
tation.  For  this  purpose  a  series  of 
settling  tanks  is  made  use  of.  These 
may  be  made  of  well-tinned  metal,  or 
of  cement  lined  with  glass  or  other 
impervious  substance.  The  first  set- 
tling is  conveniently  made  by  means 
of  a  funnel-shaped  apparatus  such  as 
that  shown  in  Fig.  5.  The  steeply 
conical  shape  facilitates  the  rapid  de- 
position of  sediment.  After  standing 
for  twentjr-f our  hours  in  this  apparatus 
the  major  part  of  the  sediment  is  de- 
posited and  can  be  drawn  off  at  the 
bottom.  It  is  well,  before  running  the 
oil  into  the  settling  tanks,  to  pass  it 
through  two  or  three  inches  of  cotton 
wool.  This  is  accomplished  by  means 
of  a  funnel  with  a  perforated,  horizon- 
tal cross-partition,  upon  which  the 
cotton  is  placed.  It  takes,  generally, 
about  one  month  for  the  oil  to  settle 
sufficiently  in  the  first  tank,  after 
which  it  should  be  drawn  off  carefully 
into  the  second,  and  so  on  until  it  is 
sufficiently  bright.  Three  rackings 
are  usually  sufficient,  and  if  all  parts  of  the  process  have  been  well 
attended  to,  an  oil  is  obtained  almost  as  bright  as  can  be  produced  by 
the  most  effective  method  of  filtration,  and  having,  besides,  the  agreeable 
and  distinctive  olive  flavor  and  absence  of  greasiness  which  is  lacking 
in  all  filtered  oils. 


Fig.  5.— Oil  Funnel. 


Precautions. — The  best  oil  can  be  made  only  from  the  cleanest  and 
soundest  olives.  The  most  thorough  cleanliness  must  be  observed  in 
all  operations.  Olive  oil  is  particularly  susceptible  to  bad  odors,  and 
the  presence  of  a  smoky  lamp  or  stove,  or  of  tobacco  smoke,  will  cer- 
tainly communicate  a  corresponding  taste  to  the  oil.  Air  and  light 
must  be  excluded  from  it  as  much  as  possible,  as  they  favor  the  oxida- 
tion which  is  the  cause  of  rancidity.  Contact  with  wood,  cloth  or  any 
materials  of  an  absorbent  nature  should  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible, 


13 

as  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  free  them  from  the  oil  which  they  absorb . 
This  finally  becomes  rancid,  and  the  taint  is  communicated  to  the  good 
oil.  For  the  same  reason  no  oil  should  be  allowed  to  remain  on  any 
part  of  the  work  room,  and  the  free  use  of  boiling  water  and  soda, 
whenever  oil  is  spilled,  is  essential.  Iron  has  an  injurious  effect, 
especially  on  the  unclarified  oil,  and  all  iron  utensils  should  be  well 
tinned.  It  is  also  very  necessary  to  preserve  an  even  and  proper  tem- 
perature in  the  press  and  storage  rooms.  If  the  temperature  is  too  low 
the  oil  becomes  too  thick,  and  at  very  low  temperatures  it  solidifies; 
this  makes  it  impossible  to  handle  or  clear  it.  If  the  temperature  is 
too  high,  oxidation  is  facilitated.  The  temperature  should,  therefore, 
not  be  allowed  to  fall  below  50  F.  nor  to  rise  above  65  F.  and  should 
be  kept  as  even  as  possible.     Water  used  must  be  free  from  all  taint. 

Pickling. 

The  successful  production  of  pickled  olives  is  a  matter  of  experience 
and  depends  almost  altogether  on  the  individual  judgment  and  skill  of 
the  producer.  No  method  can  be  given  which  is  suitable  to  all  cases, 
and  the  best  method  must  be  modified  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
olives  to  be  treated;  The  following  scheme,  therefore,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  mere  outline,  to  be  carefully  adapted  and  modified  by  the 
operator  at  each  stage  of  the  process. 

Lye  Process.— 1.  Place  the  olives  in  a  solution,  composed  of  two 
ounces  of  potash  lye  to  one  gallon  of  water,  for  four  hours.  Repeat 
this  once,  or  twice  if  necessary,  to  sufficiently  remove  the  tartness. 

2.*  Rinse  the  olives  thoroughly  and  replace  the  lye  solution  with 
fresh  water.  Change  the  water  twice  a  day,  until  the  potash  has  been 
removed  from  the  olive,  as  judged  by  the  taste. 

3.  Replace  the  water  with  brine  composed  of  four  ounces  of  salt  to 
a  gallon  of  water  and  allowed  to  stand  two  days. 

4.  Put  in  brine  of  six  ounces  of  salt  to  a  gallon  for  seven  days. 

5.  Put  in  brine  of  ten  ounces  per  gallon  for  two  weeks. 

6 .  Put  finally  into  a  brine  containing  fourteen  ounces  of  salt  to  the 
gallon  of  water. 

In  order  to  make  this  process  a  success  the  following  considerations 
should  be  kept  in  view: 

1.  Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  allow  the  olives  to  come  in 
contact  with  anything  that  will  injure  their  flavor.  The  vats  or  other 
receptacles  used  for  pickling  should  be  perfectly  clean,  odorless,  and 
tasteless.  Earthenware  is  the  best  material,  but  it  is  usually  cheaper 
and  more  convenient  to  use  wooden  receptacles  thoroughly  treated  with 
boiling  water  and  soda  until  they  are  sterilized  and  all  taste  of  the 
wood  removed.  Any  wood  (such  as  pine)  with  strong  taste  should 
not  be  used.  The  vats  should  be  provided  with  a  removable  wooden 
grating,  fastened  one  or  two  inches  from  the  bottom,  and  a  close  fitting 
floating  wooden  cover  to  prevent  access  of  air,  which  spots  the  fruit. 
On  top  of  the  vats  should  be  placed  a  cover  of  thick  cloth  or  of  wood 

*  Professor  Hilgard  recommends  the  use  of  weak  brine  from  the  first,  that  is  as  soon  as  the  lye 
solution  is  removed. 


14 

to  exclude  light  and  dust.     Each  vat  should  be  provided  at  the  bottom 
with  a  wooden  spigot  for  drawing  off  the  solutions. 

Cloth  Cover. 


Floating  Cover. 


—      Olives. 


Wooden  Grating. 


Fig.  6.— Pickling  Vat. 

The  thickness  of  the  layer  of  olives  should  not  be  more  than  two 
feet,  or  less  with  soft  varieties. 

2.  Only  the  verj^  best  of  potash  lye  should  be  used.  Some  of  the 
brands  of  lye  are  so  impure  that  it  is  impossible,  without  a  chemical 
analysis,  to  tell  within  forty  per  cent,  how  strong  the  lye  solution 
actually  is  when  made  up.  "  Greenbank  Lye"  has  been  found  the  most 
reliable,  and  may  be  considered  as  one  hundred  per  cent,  pure  when 
making  up  the  solution.  The  length  of  time  which  the  olives  should 
be  left  in  the  lye,  and  the  number  of  times  the  lye  should  be  renewed, 
can  only  be  determined  by  experiment  for  each  variety  and  each 
locality.  The  object  is  to  extract  the  tartness  of  the  olive,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  soften  the  skin  sufficiently  to  allow  the  tart  or  bitter  sub- 
stances to  be  soaked  out  in  the  subsequent  treatment  with  pure  water. 
The  tougher  and  thicker  the  skin  of  the  olive  and  the  more  intense  the 
tartness,  the  longer  must  the  lye  treatment  be  continued.  The  lye 
is  sometimes  made  twice  as  strong  as  recommended  above,  and  the 
treatment  correspondingly  shorter,  but  the  results  are  not  so  good. 
Just  enough  lye  solution  should  be  used  to  exactly  cover  the  olives, 
and  occasionally,  during  the  soaking,  some  of  the  solution  should  be 
drawn  off  below  and  poured  on  top  to  insure  an  equal  treatment  of  all 
the  fruit. 

3.  Only  the  very  purest  water  should  be  used,  both  for  the  lye 
solution  and  for  the  subsequent  soaking.  Canal  and  river  water,  or  any 
water  that  contains  a  great  deal  of  organic  matter,  should  never  be 
used  unless  it  is  practicable  to  boil  it  first.  Distilled  water,  such  as 
can  sometimes  be  obtained  by  condensing  the  waste  steam  from  a 
boiler,  is  the  best,  both  on  account  of  its  purity  and  its  greater  extrac- 
tive power,  provided  of  course  it  be  free  from  oily  flavors.  The 
length  of  time  during  which  the  soaking  in  pure  water  should  be 
continued,  varies  very  much  in  accordance  with  the  character  of  the 
fruit.  If  the  olives  are  firm  and  show  no  signs  of  becoming  soft  it 
should  continue  until  the  tartness  is  sufficiently  extracted.  This  will 
vary  usually  between  ten  and  twenty  days.  The  moment  that  the 
olives  begin  to  show  signs  of  softening,  however,  they  should  be 
placed  in  weak  brine,  even  though  the  tartness  has  not  all  disappeared. 


15 

What  remains  can  then  be  extracted  by  the  brine,  which  should  be 
changed  two  or  three  times,  as  may  be  necessary.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  change  the  brine  quite  so  often  as  the  pure  water,  once  in  two  days 
being  generally  sufficient. 

If  the  olives  are  soft  at  first,  before  treatment  with  lye,  or  if  they 
are  of  a  kind  that  softens  rapidly  in  the  lye,  it  is  necessary  to  use 
brine  from  the  beginning,  either  immediately  after  treatment  with  lye 
or,  in  extreme  cases  with  the  lye.  This  method,  suggested  by  Pro- 
fessor Hilgard,  has  been  used  with  marked  success.  The  lye  solution 
in  this  case  should  be  made  by  adding  two  ounces  of  lye  and  four 
ounces  of  salt  to  each  gallon  of  water.  As  the  lye  acts  much  more 
slowly  when  used  in  combination  with  salt,  it  may  be  allowed  to  stay 
on  the  olives  for  a  longer  time  without  injurj^  eight  to  twelve  hours 
or  even  more.  In  this  way  the  lye  solution  tends  to  soften  and  swell 
the  olives,  the  brine  counteracts  this  and  tends  to  harden  and  shrink 
them.  The  shrinkage,  which  occurs  when  brine  is  used  from  the 
beginning  on  naturally  soft  olives,  is  not  a  disadvantage  if  not  carried 
too  far,  as  such  olives  are  generally  too  watery  to  be  palatable  or  to 
keep  well.  They  can,  moreover,  if  shrunk  too  much,  be  made  plump 
again  by  a  few  treatments  with  pure  water  before  being  put  finally 
into  brine. 

The  first  salting  must  be  done  very  gradually  and  carefully  in 
order  to  prevent  shrinkage  and  wrinkling  of  the  fruit.  For  this 
reason,  gradually  increasing  strengths  of  brine  must  be  used,  as 
described,  and  the  olives  left  long  enongh  in  each  to  be  thoroughly 
penetrated. 

In  all  these  operations  no  sign  of  scum  or  slime  should  be  allowed 
to  accumulate  on  the  olives,  the  vats  or  the  covers.  This  is  of 
especial  importance  during  the  treatment  with  plain  water.  On  the 
first  signs  of  sliminess  around  the  sides  of  the  vats,  where  it  appears 
first,  they  should  be  emptied  and  thoroughly  brushed  and  scalded 
before  replacing  the  olives. 

Pure- Water  Process. — The  best  pickled  olives  are  made  without 
the  use  of  lye,  but  this  process  is  only  practicable  with  olives  whose 
tartness  is  easily  extracted,  and  where  the  water  is  extremely  pure  and 
plentiful,  and  even  then  it  is  very  slow  and  tedious.  It  differs  from 
the  last  process  only  in  omitting  the  preliminary  lye  treatment.  The 
olives  are  placed  from  the  beginning  in  pure  water,  which  is  changed 
twice  a  day  until  the  bitterness  is  sufficiently  extracted.  This  requires 
from  forty  to  sixty  days  or  more.  The  extraction  is  sometimes 
hastened  by  making  two  or  three  shallow,  longitudinal  slits  in  each 
olive,  but  this  modification,  besides  requiring  a  large  amount  of 
expensive  handling,  renders  the  fruit  peculiarly  susceptible  to  bacterial 
decay  and  softening.  Altogether,  the  pure-water-process  cannot  be 
recommended  for  California,  as  it  is  too  expensive  and  uncertain. 

Green  Pickles. — Green  pickled  olives  are  made  by  essentially  the 
same  processes  as  are  used  for  ripe  pickles.  The  extraction  of  the 
tartness  requires  the  same  care  and  the  same  close  adaptation  to 
peculiarities  of  different  varieties  as  already  described.  The  olives 
are  pickled  soon  after  they  have  attained  full  size,  and  before  they 


16 

have  shown  any  signs  of  coloring  or  softening.  They  contain  at  this 
time  comparatively  little  oil,  and  are  in  every  way  much  inferior  to  the 
ripe  pickles  in  nutritive  value.  They  are  not  a  food  but  a  relish. 
They  are  rather  more  easily  made  than  the  ripe  pickles,  as  there  is  less 
danger  of  spoiling.  There  is,  however,  very  little  market  for  any  but 
the  largest  sizes. 

Nutritive  Value  of  Olives. — Pickled  ripe  olives  constitute  an  ex- 
tremely nutritious  and  digestible  form  of  food.  They  contain  a  large 
amount  of  oil,  carbohydrates  and  some  nitrogenous  matter,  and  in  some 
countries  replace  meat  to  a  certain  extent.  Pickled  green  olives  such 
as  those  imported  from  Spain  are  on  the  contrary  indigestible  and 
contain  much  less  nutriment.  They  are  made  from  unripe  fruit  and 
are  therefore,  as  far  as  their  use  as  food  is  concerned,  in  no  way 
superior  to  unripe  apples  or  peaches.  They  are  simply  a  relish  and 
to  be  used  in  very  limited  quantities,  in  the  same  way  as  pickled 
walnuts  or  cucumbers.  A  meal  of  bread  and  ripe  olives  is  not  only 
palatable  but  nutritious  and  sustaining,  and  the  amount  eaten  is  to  be 
limited  onty  by  the  same  considerations  as  that  of  any  other  good 
wholesome  food. 

The  following  table  of  analyses,  prepared  by  Professor  Jaffa  of  this 
Station,  illustrates  very  forcibly  the  superiority  of  ripe  pickles  over 
green  ones  in  nutritive  value. 

Analyses  of  Edible  Part  of  Ripe  and  of  Green  Pickles. 


Ripe  Pickled  Olives  from  California. 

Medium-sized  Mission. 

Larger, 
Watery  Mission. 

(green) 
From  Spain. 

Water,  per  cent 

64.72 

25.89 

4.28 

5.11 

65.45 

25.15 

3.22 

6.18 

72.77 

18.81 

2.49 

5.93 

78.41 

Oil,  per  cent 

Carbohydrates,  per  cent 

Other  matters,  per  cent.   . 

12.90 
1.78 
6.91 

The  Queen  olives  were  the  best  of  their  kind  to  be  found  on  the 
market,  and  when  compared  with  the  first  two  samples  of  ripe  pickles, 
which  are  typical  of  good  ripe  Missions,  show  just  half  the  amount  of 
nutritive  material.  This  does  not  show  the  whole  difference,  for  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  nutriment  in  the  ripe  fruit  is  in  a  much  more 
readily  assimilable  form  than  in  the  green.  The  third  sample  was 
grown  on  an  over- irrigated  soil,  and  while  inferior  to  the  first  two,  is 
much  superior  to  the  green  fruit  both  in  quantity  and  quality  of 
nutriment. 


Grading  and  Sorting. — It  is  extremely  important  that  all  the  olives 
in  each  lot  of  pickles  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  uniform  in 
character,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  process  of  pickling  and  to  produce 
an  attractive  appearance.  Olives  of  different  varieties,  and  even  those 
of  the  same  variety  from  dissimilar  locations,  should  never  be  mixed. 
The  first  sorting  is  done  while  gathering,  and  the  under-ripe,  over-ripe 
and  injured  fruit  separated  from  that  which  is  to  be  pickled.     The 


17 

good  fruit  is  then  graded  by  means  of  a  mechanical  grader  according 
to  size.  In  this  way  the  olives  are  separated  into  different  lots  which 
will  each  contain  fruit  on  which 
the  different  processes  of  pick- 
ling will  act  uniformly.  A  grader 
adapted  to  handling  soft  fruit, 
that  will  not  bruise  the  olives, 
must  be  used.  That  represented 
by  Fig.  7  has  been  used  success- 
fully. After  the  pickling  pro- 
cess is  finished  there  will  often 
be  a  distinct  difference  of  color 
between  different  olives  of  the 
same  lot.  Another  sorting  ac- 
cording to  color  is  then  advis-  Fig.  7.— Olive  Grader. 
able.    This  must  be  done  by  hand, 

and  either  two  or  three  colors  may  be  separated,  dark  and  light  or 
black,  medium  and  greenish  according  to  the  variety. 

Diseases. 

Both  the  olive  tree  and  its  fruit  are  subject  to  a  large  number  of 
diseases  in  Europe.  Luckily  most  of  these,  and  some  of  the  most 
destructive,  have  not  yet  appeared  in  California.  In  this  bulletin  only 
those  which  have  assumed  some  importance  in  the  State  are  described. 

Twig  Borer. — The  small  black  or  brown  insect  which  bores  into 
the  small  branches  of  the  olive  at  the  base  of  a  bud  or  twig  is  a  beetle 
called  Polycaon  confertus.  No  method  of  extermination  has  been 
devised,  but  luckily  it  seldom  does  any  great  damage.  As  the  twigs 
which  are  attacked  are  weakened,  they  should  be  removed  at  time  of 
pruning  and  burned.  This  will  prevent  the  waste  of  nourishment  on 
weakened  twigs,  and  destroy  any  borers  that  remain  in  the  holes. 

Black  Scale. — Although  other  varieties  of  scale  insects  are  occasion- 
ally found  upon  the  olive,  the  black  scale  is  the  only  one  that  does 
serious  damage,  and  is,  in  fact,  the  worst  enemy  of  the  olive  tree  in 
California.  The  injury  done  by  the  insect  is  due  to  the  extraction  of 
nourishment  and  water,  and,  when  the  insects  are  plentiful,  to  the 
"hide-bound"  condition  of  the  tree  that  ensues,  preventing  the  proper 
growth  and  assimilation  of  food  materials.  A  secondary  injury  is  due 
to  the  growth  of  fungi,  induced  by  the  presence  of  the  scale.  This  will 
be  discussed  later  under  Sooty  Mold.  The  black  scale  is  most  prevalent 
in  the  orchards  near  the  coast.  The  extremely  dry  air,  which  occurs 
occasionally  for  long  periods  in  the  interior  valleys,  usually  prevents  it 
reaching  injurious  numbers.  The  black  scale  has  many  natural  insect 
enemies,  but  none  of  them  are  capable  of  repressing  it  sufficiently  when 
other  conditions  are  favorable  to  its  growth  and  multiplication. 

The  small  Australian  lady-bird  ( Rhizobius  ventralisj  feeds  upon 
this  scale,  and  was  at  one  time  looked  upon  as  a  certain  remedy  where- 
ever  it  found  the  proper  conditions  for  its  growth  and  multiplication, 
i.e.,  near  the  coast.     At  present  there  is  great  doubt  whether  the 


18 

diminution  of  black  scale,  that  seems  to  have  occurred  where  the 
Rhizobius  was  first  introduced,  is  really  all  to  be  credited  to  this  insect. 
The  black  scale  is  subject  to  certain  fungous  and  bacterial  diseases, 
which,  under  favorable  conditions,  and  especially  when  the  insects 
have  become  very  abundant,  often  destroy  all  of  the  scale  present.  In 
this  way  orchards  that  have  been  thoroughly  infested  by  black  scale 
for  several  years,  will  become  almost  entirely  free  from  them  for  a  long 
time  without  any  treatment  at  all.  The  most  effective  method  of  com- 
batting this  scale  is  certainly  the  hj^drocyanic  acid  gas  treatment,  but 
it  is  too  expensive.  The  only  remedy  that  at  present  seems  to  be 
reasonably  certain,  effective,  and  economical,  is  intelligently  conducted 
spraying.  The  best  and  cheapest  spray  for  this  purpose  is  a  resin- 
soap  wash  made  of  the  following  ingredients:  Resin,  8  pounds; 
standard  caustic  soda,  2  pounds;   fish  oil,  1  pint;  water,  40  gallons. 

The  resin,  soda,  and  fish  oil  are  placed  in  a  closed  kettle  with  just 
enough  water  to  cover  them,  and  boiled  for  two  hours.  This  will  form 
a  soap  which  is  to  be  diluted  with  hot  water,  in  the  proportion 
mentioned,  before  use.  It  is  best  applied  warm.  Kerosene  emulsion 
is  also  effective  and  convenient,  but  somewhat  more  expensive 

A  regular  annual  spraying  at  a  stated  time  is  not  to  be  recom- 
mended, and  is  not  effective.  For  the  best  results  the  insects  must  be 
watched,  and  whenever  the  very  young  insects  appear  in  large  num- 
bers on  the  leaves  and  stems,  the  spray  should  be  applied.  This  is 
because  the  young  insects  are  very  much  easier  to  kill  than  those 
which  are  mature  and  possess  a  hard  protecting  shell.  In  some  years 
two  or  even  three  sprayings  may  be  necessary,  while  for  other  years 
spraying  may  be  omitted  altogether. 

Sooty  Mold. — The  black  scale  excretes  a  sticky  substance  that  is 
excellent  food  for  various  kinds  of  fungi,  and  particularly  for  that 
known  as  Sooty  Mold.  This  fungus  appears  as  a  black  coating  on  the 
leaves,  stems,  and  fruit.  It  does  not  penetrate  the  tissues  of  the  plant, 
and  therefore  does  not  injure  them  directly  like  some  fungi.  By 
shutting  off  the  light,  however,  it  interferes  with  the  assimilation  of 
food  by  the  leaves,  which  takes  place  only  in  the  presence  of  full  light. 
Some  injury  is  also  done  to  the  appearance  of  the  fruit  by  the  coating 
of  black  fungus,  and  the  dirt  and  fungi  adhering  to  the  sticky  sub- 
stance on  the  olives  no  doubt  has  a  deleterious,  effect  on  the  quality  of 
the  oil.  As  the  sooty  mold  grows  only  upon  the  excretions  of  the 
black  scale  and  not  upon  the  substance  of  the  plant,  the  repression  of 
the  scale  will  result  in  the  disappearance  of  the  mold. 

Peacock  Leaf  Spot. — This  disease  is  caused  by  a  fungus  called 
Cycloconium  oleaginum,  which  grows  upon  the  leaves  and  fruit.  It 
forms  spots  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  on  the  leaves, 
composed  of  concentric  rings  of  different  shades,  which  give  them  an 
appearance  resembling  the  spots  on  a  peacock's  tail.  On  the  fruit  the 
spots  are  smaller  and  browner.  This  disease  is  very  prevalent  at 
Berkeley,  and  has  been  found  in  other  localities.  It  usually  does  little 
harm,  and  can  be  controlled  by  Bordeaux  mixture.  It  occasionally 
becomes  sufficiently  abundant  to  make  the  leaves  turn  yellowish,  and 
injures  the  appearance  of  the  fruit  a  little  for  pickling. 


19 

Dry  Rot. — Ripe  olives  are  sometimes  attacked  by  a  disease  which 
appears  as  a  shriveling-  and  drying-up  of  one  part,  generally  the  apex, 
but  occasionally  the  stem  end.  The  disease  progresses,  especially  in 
warm  weather,  until  a  large  part  of  the  tissue  of  the  olive  is  destroyed. 
After  the  olives  are  picked  and  placed  in  boxes  or  on  trays,  especially 
the  former,  the  disease  progresses  more  rapidly  on  account  of  the 
greater  heat  and  moisture  generally  present.  The  Nevadillo  seems 
particularly  susceptible  to  this  disease.  Keeping  the  trees  clean 
and  well  aerated,  and  in  general  the  means  suggested  foi  the  Sooty 
Mold,  are  the  most  likely  remedies  to  be  used  for  dry  rot.  The 
disease  is  caused  by  two  species  of  fungus,  an  Alternaria  and  a 
Macro sporium ;  the  former  is  most  usually  found. 

Bacterial  Rot. — Certain  large,  fleshy  olives  are  subject  to  a  disease 
which  attacks  the  flesh  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  pit.  Olives 
attacked  by  this  disease  appear  at  first  perfectly  healthy,  but  if  they 
are  cut  open  it  will  be  found  that  there  are  black  spots  in  the  flesh 
near  the  pit.  These  spots  gradually  spread  until  they  surround  the  pit 
completely,  and  in  the  advanced  stage  of  the  disease  the  olive  is  almost 
hollow.  It  is  only  at  this  stage  that  it  is  possible  to  tell  from  the  out- 
side that  the  olive  is  not  sound.  Large  numbers  of  bacteria  can  be 
found  in  the  decayed  tissue,  and  it  is  to  them  that  the  disease  is  due, 
in  all  probability.  The  varieties  most  subject  to  this  disease  are  the 
Polymorpha,  Macrocarpa,  Columbella,  and  Obliza. 

Another  disease  somewhat  resembling  this  in  character  and  prob- 
ably in  origin,  often  attacks  soft,  fleshy  olives.  It  appears  first  as 
small  depressions  on  the  outside  of  the  fruit  resembling  the  results  of 
bruising.  These  depressions  enlarge  in  size  and  finally  involve  a  large 
part  of  the  fruit.  If  cut  open  it  will  be  found  that  the  tissue  below 
the  depressions  is  brown  and  decayed,  but  not  hollowed  out  as  is  the 
case  with  the  decay  last  described.  Olives  attacked  by  either  of  these 
diseases  will,  of  course,  give  an  inferior  oil,  and  are  very  difficult  to 
pickle.  They  should  be  used  for  pickling  as  soon  as  possible  after  the 
disease  is  discovered,  and  treated  by  Professor  Hilgard's  method  of 
combined  lye  and  salt  solution.  The  Manzanillo  seems  to  be  particu- 
larly susceptible  to  this  disease.  As  both  of  these  diseases  attack 
principally  large,  flesh}'  varieties,  and  especially  very  juicy  fruit,  it  is 
very  likely  that  the  methods,  especially  drainage,  recommended  for 
Olive  Knot,  would  be  effective  in  restraining  its  development. 

Olive  Knot. — This  disease  appears  as  woody  tumors  on  the  leaves, 
branches,  stems,  and  particularly  on  the  small  twigs  of  olive  trees  of 
all  ages.  It  is  confined  to  warm  localities  and  especially  to  rich,  over- 
moist  soils.  The  size  of  the  tumors  on  the  leaves  varies  from  that  of 
a  pin-head  to  that  of  a  pea.  On  the  twigs  they  are  usually  about  the 
size  of  a  hazel-nut  or  walnut.  On  the  main  stem  they  may  be  large, 
and  they  sometimes,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  cuts  or  plough 
wounds,  run  together  and  form  large  masses  of  dry,  fissured,  tumor- 
like tissue.  They  are  shown  in  the  Plate,  on  third  page  of  cover,  as 
they  appear  on  the  small  twigs.  The  disease  is  rather  slow  in  its 
progress,  and  for  one  or  two  years  seems  to  do  little  damage  to  the 
trees.     Trees  when  first  attacked  may  even  bear  more  heavily  than 


20 

usual.  Finally,  however,  at  the  end  of  four  or  five  years,  the  amount 
of  food  material  taken  up  by  the  knots  is  so  large  that  the  tree  suffers 
from  starvation  and  finally  becomes  useless.  The  disease  is  caused  by 
a  certain  species  of  bacterium  which  commences  to  grow  just  under 
the  bark,  and  lives  in  the  interior  of  the  tumor  it  produces.  It  is 
carried  from  tree  to  tree  by  pruning  instruments,  also  probably  by 
insects  which  puncture  the  bark,  and  perhaps  by  the  wind.  It  only 
attacks  trees  which  are  vigorous  and  full  of  sap.  The  varieties  which 
are  most  valuable  for  their  fruit,  that  is,  those  most  removed  from 
the  wild  type,  are  the  most  subject  to  attack. 

As  the  disease  cannot  occur  without  infection  from  the  special 
bacterium  which  causes  it,  the  greatest  care  should.be  taken  to  destroy 
the  bacteria  and  prevent  their  being  taken  from  one  tree  to  another. 
Upon  the  first  appearance  of  the  knots,  the  twigs  on  which  they 
appear  should  be  cut  off  and  burnt  on  the  spot ;  and  unless  the  orchard 
is  naturally  well  isolated  from  all  others,  the  whole  tree  should  be 
destroyed  in  the  same  way.  No  tools  used  upon  an  affected  tree 
should  be  used  upon  any  other  until  they  have  been  thoroughly  disin- 
fected with  boiling  water.  Heavy  pruning  should  be  avoided,  as  it 
tends  to  produce  a  growth  of  sappy  shoots  particularly  liable  to 
infection.  Finally,  under-drainage,  whenever  practicable,  is  the  most 
effective  method  of  prevention. 


21 


OLIVE  VARIETIES  AND  THEIR  ADAPTATION. 


By  Geo.  E.  Colby. 


In  the  following"  pages  we  give  a  summary  of  the  physical  and 
chemical  analyses  of  some  of  the  more  important  and  fully  tested 
varieties  of  olives  as  grown  in  the  several  regions  of  the  State, 
together  with  notes  on  some  of  the  rarer  (here)  or  not  yet  fully  tested 
ones.  By  different  regions  of  the  State  is  meant  partly  geographic 
and  partly  climatic  regions;  thus  Sacramento  Valley  embraces  the 
region  from  Chico,  the  northern  (apparently)  limit  of  the  olive,  to 
Sacramento;  the  Bay  region,  all  that  part  of  Central  California  over 
which  the  bay  climate  prevails,  including  the  Santa  Clara  Valley;  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  that  part  of  California  drained  by  the  San 
Joaquin  River;  the  Sierra  Foothill  region,  the  low  hilly  belt  bordering 
the  Sierra  Mountains  east  of  the  Great  Valley,  including  such  localities 
as  Auburn,  Jackson,  and  Amador  County  generally;  the  Southern  Coast 
Range  region  includes  Santa  Barbara,  Ventura,  and  other  counties 
northward;  and  for  the  present  purpose  Southern  California  is  made  to 
include  all  localities  from  San  Fernando  to  San  Diego. 

The  descriptions  given  of  the  olives  are  taken  from  the  reports  of 
this  Station  for  1892-3  and  1894-5,  the  copies  of  which  were  destroyed 
in  the  fire  of  1897. 

During  the  last  eight  years  over  seven  hundred  and  forty  samples 
of  olives,  representing  fifty-seven  varieties,  have  been  examined  here; 
six  hundred  and  fifty  analyses  are  comprised  in  the  table  of  averages 
at  the  end  of  this  bulletin;  sixty  to  seventy  of  the  remaining  samples 
were  received  un-named,  and  their  analyses  have  served  the  purpose  of 
assisting  the  interested  grower  in  identifying  his  fruit;  twenty-five 
specimens  were  accidentally  lost,  by  fire,  before  analysis.  The  detailed 
results  and  discussion  of  this  work,  up  to  that  relating  to  the  crop  of 
1897,  have  been  published  in  the  California  Experiment  Station 
Reports  for  the  years  1892-96;  the  forthcoming  report,  1897-98,  will 
contain  the  complete  record  of  analyses  to  date. 

In  passing,  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  in  this  bulletin  we 
deal  mostly  with  facts  relating  to  the  size  of  the  fruit,  the  amount  of 
pit,  and  amount  of  oil  in  the  fruit,  and  not  tvith  the  yield  of  fruit. 
This  happens  because  there  are  at  present  no  sufficiently  extensive  or 
accurate  data  upon  the  question  of  yields  of  fruit  by  the  different 
varieties . 

It  will  be  noted  in  the  table  of  averages  that  the  amount  of  oil  con- 
tained in  the  pit  is  comparatively  small,  even  as  extracted  by  chemical 


22 

processes.  If  all  of  this  pit-oil  were  available  and  unobjectionable,  the 
actual  quantity  would  not  pay  for  the  trouble  of  extraction ;  but  these 
very  small  amounts  are  disseminated  throughout  the  hard  material  of 
the  pits,  and  this  renders  their  expression  by  mechanical  means  a 
problem  of  no  practical  interest.  Apart  from  the  uselessness  of  attempt- 
ing to  extract  the  pit-oil,  the  kernel  imparts  a  disagreeable  taste  to  the 
oil  of  the  flesh  with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  and  impairs  its  keeping 
qualities. 

Discrepancies  noted  by  the  reader  between  this  and  earlier  publi- 
cations of  this  Station  relating  to  the  olive,  may  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  there  now  exists  a  broader  basis  for  this  later  work. 

,    The  Mission  Olive. 

This  name  designates  the  variety  found  growing  at  the  old  missions 
in  California.  (See  title  page.)  It  has  long  been  known  that  the  so- 
called  Mission  olive  embraced  several  varieties,  or  sub- varieties,  at  least. 

Common  or  Broad-leaved  Mission  Olive. — This  is  the  commonest 
form  of  the  Mission  olive  in  California.  The  fruit  is  yf  of  an  inch 
long  by  If  of  an  inch  thick;  ovate,  oblique — sometimes  very  much 
so;  the  pit  straight  or  slightly  curved,  \^  of  an  inch  long  and  fV 
of  an  inch  thick.  The  fruit  is  very  variable  in  size,  single  or  in 
clusters  of  two  or  more.  It  ripens  late  in  the  coast  region,  sometimes 
not  until  February,  but  generally  in  December;  While  in  warmer 
localities  it  ripens  in  November. 

Other  Mission  Varieties. — On  the  University  grounds  there  are  now 
being  studied  three  apparently  distinct  varieties  of  the  Mission: 
(a)  Broad-leaved  or  Common  Mission,  already  described ;  (b)  Narrow- 
leaved  Mission,  a  variety  from  L.  A.  Gould,  of  Auburn,  described  as 
having  a  somewhat  larger  fruit  than  the  broad-leaved  variety,  and  a 
more  straggling  habit;  (c)  Early  Mission,  from  A.  A.  Wheeler,  of  San 
Francisco.  It  is  of  the  Mission  type,  but  ripens  much  earlier. 
Whatever  may  be  the  difference,  these  are  of  the  same  type. 

There  have  been  received  at  this  Station  during  the  last  eight  years 
one  hundred  and  twelve  samples  of  the  Mission  olive  from  sixty-five 
different  and  widely  separated  localities.  The  outlying  culture- 
stations  of  the  University  have  supplied  seven  samples.  A  study  of 
the  results  of  the  physical  and  chemical  analyses  of  the  Mission  may 
be  summarized  as  follows: 

Size  of  Fruit. — It  appears  that  the  Mission,  as  grown  in  Southern 
California  (San  Fernando  to  San  Diego),  is  but  little  larger  than  that 
from  the  Sacramento  Valley  (Chico  to  Sacramento) ,  and  neither  of  these 
regions  produces  fruit  much  larger  than  that  coming  from  the  South- 
ern Coast  Range  localities.  For  these  three  regions,  it  takes  on  the 
average,  respectively,  100.8,  101.6,  and  106.7  to  make  a  pound 
avoirdupois.  In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  and  the  Sierra  Foothills,  the 
Mission  olive  is  found  to  be  smaller  than  the  fruit  from  Northern  and 
Southern  California;  in  the  Valley,  117.9;  in  the  Foothills,  113.0 
olives  are  required  to  weigh  a  pound.  In  the  Bay  region  this  olive  is 
found  to  be,  on  the  average,  very  much  smaller  than  from  other  parts 


23 

of  the  State,  requiring  for  a  pound  as  many  as  135.2  olives,  due 
probably  to  the  prevalence  of  heavy  (adobe)  soils.  The  average  of 
the  Mission  variety  for  the  whole  State  is  111.6  per  pound. 

Precentage  of  Pit. — The  Southern  California  Mission  olive,  the 
largest  of  all,  is  found  to  contain  the  least  waste  material  or  pit 
content,  the  average  being  ]5.8  per  cent.  The  next  in  order  are 
those  from  San  Joaquin  Valley  and  the  Southern  Coast  Range,  with 
respectively,  16.4  and  16.8  per  cent,  of  pit,  while  the  Sacramento  Val- 
ley Mission  olive  has  an  average  of  17  per  cent,  of  pit.  The  Foothill 
olive  with  19.2  per  cent,  is  slightly  superior  to  the  Bay  fruit  with 
20.8  per  cent,  of  pit.  These  figures  do  not  show  great  variations  from 
the  average  pit-percentage  of  all  the  Missions,  which  is  17.2  per  cent. 

Oil  in  the  Flesh. — The  oil  content  of  the  flesh  of  the  Mission  olive 
from  the  Bay  and  Foothills  regions  is  greater  by  more  than  2  per  cent, 
than  that  yielded  by  the  northern  and  southern  grown  fruit,  for  the 
Bay  Missions  contain  on  the  average  24.27,  the  Foothill  25.67 
and  the  Sacramento  and  Southern  Missions  but  21.3  per  cent,  of  oil  in 
the  flesh.  The  Southern  Coast  Range  and  San  Joaquin  Valley  Missions 
both  have  nearly  23.0  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh,  or  about  1.50  per 
cent,  above  the  average  for  all. 

Oil  in  the  Pit  (calculated  upon  whole  fruit). — The  Mission  olive 
contains,  along  with  the  Manzanillo  and  the  Columbella,  less  (.60  per 
cent.)  oil  in  the  pit  than  any  other  olive  variety  that  has  been  fully 
tested.  This,  together  with  the  fact,  that  little  of  the  pit-oil  can  be 
extracted  at  best,  is  one  reason  why  the  taste  of  the  oil  of  the  Mission 
variety  is  not  tainted  with  that  of  pit-oil.  Another  reason  is  that 
only  a  small  part  of  the  pits  of  the  Mission  contain  any  kernel  at  all. 

Size. — Among  the  largely-grown  varieties  (Rubra,  Manzanillo, 
Redding  Picholine,  Nevadillo  Blanco,  Mission,  Uvaria,  Pendulina, 
Oblonga  and  Columbella)  which  constitute  the  chief  part  of  the  olive 
orchards  of  California,  the  Mission  is  shown  in  the  table  of  averages  to 
stand  second  in  size,  and  to  be  only  slightly  inferior  to  the  Manzanillo, 
which  has  the  largest  sized  fruit.  Again,  among  these  varieties  it 
holds  an  intermediate  position  in  size  of  pit;  and  in  the  oil  content  of 
the  flesh,  it  is  superior  to  most  of  them  and  nearly  equal  to  the  highest 
oil  producer,  the  Nevadillo  Blanco. 

These  results  emphasize  the  commonly  accepted  opinion  that  this 
variety  is  well  suited  either  for  pickling  or  for  oil- making,  and  that  it 
is,  in  all  the  different  regions  of  the  State,  a  good  "all  around"  variety, 
safe  to  plant,  especially  upon  new  and  untried  lands.  It  produces  an 
oil  of  good  quality  which  keeps  well,  and  is  also  well  adapted  to  pick- 
ling; a  combination  of  qualities  that  further  recommends  it  to  the 
grower. 

Nevadillo  Blanco,  or  Moiral. 

The  Nevadillo  Blanco  came  to  California  from  Spain;  probably 
there  are  importations  from  other  countries  also.  From  the  descrip- 
tions we  have,  we  are  led  to  suppose  that  it  is  more  vigorous  and 


.       24 

productive  in  California  than  in  Europe.     But  it  is  first  to  suffer  from 
frost. 

The  tree  is  a  vigorous,  large,  spreading  grower;  the  bark,  gray; 
suckers,  ordinarily  numerous;  foliage,  when  young,  very  vigorous, 
inserted  at  an  acute  angle;  color,  at  first  dirty  greenish  gray  on  the 
two-year-old  wood;  wood,  cylindrical,  quadrangular  only  at  the 
extremities  of  the  young  branches;  eyes,  medium  prominent.  The 
leaf  is  medium  long  and  wide  (mean  length,  6  to  7.5  centimeters,  or 
2fg-  to  3  inches,  width,  1.25  to  1.75  centimeters,  or  TV  to  fi  of  an 
inch);  superior  surface,  shining  deep  green;  inferior,  with  thick  de- 
posit, principal  nerve  well  marked  on  both  faces.  The  leaves  are 
very  plentiful,  forming  a  thick  covering  to  the  tree. 

The  fruit  is  regularly  distributed  along  the  entire  length  of  the 
branches,  most  frequently  single,  sometimes  in  pairs;  peduncle, 
short;  pedicel,  long,  inserted  in  a  well-marked  depression  on  the 
berry;  stigma,  not  apparent  in  well-marked  umbilicus.  This  is  an 
olive  of  under  the  medium  size,  or  small.  In  California  it  is  larger 
than  in  Europe;  mean  length  in  Europe  is  1.5  to  1.66  centimeters, 
or  It  to  yi  of  an  inch;  width,  1.25  to  1.5  centimeters,  or  -fi  to  yf 
of  an  inch.  Its  form  is  almost  perfectly  regular,  with  the  exception 
that  it  is  slightly  obtuse  at  both  extremities.  The  pit  is  large  and  of 
the  same  shape  as  the  berry,  with  a  groove  along  its  entire  length. 
The  skin  is  of  a  shining,  deep  black  color,  rather  thick,  with  .very 
little  bloom;   pulp,  abundant,  of  a  white-red  color. 

Out  of  fifty- eight,  six  samples  of  this  variety  were  received  from 
the  culture  stations  of  the  University;  thirty-one  different  localities 
furnished  the  remaining  fifty  samples. 

This  variety  of  olive  from  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Valleys, 
and  of  Southern  California  shows  remarkable  similarity  in  oil  content, 
all  ranging  between  21  and  22  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh,  or  between 
1  and  2  per  cent,  lower  than  the  average  (22.92  per  cent.)  for  all 
localities.  Those  from  the  Foothill,  Bay,  and  Southern  Coast  Range 
contain  25  to  26  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh,  the'  Bay  fruit  showing 
the  highest  average  amount,  26.04  per  cent.  In  size  there  seems  to  be 
great  regularity,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  the  Bay  region  which  is 
the  smallest,  215.9,  and  that  from  Sacramento  Valley  the  largest, 
136.9  olives  per  pound.  In  the  fruit  from  the  Sierra  Foothills,  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  the  Southern  Coast  Range,  and  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, none  vary  to  any  extent  from  the  average  of  all  in  size,  viz. ,  157 
per  pound. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Bay  region  fruit  with  22  per  cent,  there 
is  hardly  any  difference  in  pit  content  of  the  fruit  of  all  the  other 
regions,  for  the  range  is  only  between  16  and  17  per  cent. ;  the 
average  for  all  is  17.3  per  cent. 

When  compared  with  the  Nevadillo  Blanco  grown  in  France,  that  of 
California  is  found  to  be  at  least  twice  as  large,  and  to  contain  only 
about  four-fifths  as  much  pit  and  nearly  two-thirds  more  oil  in  the 
flesh.  In  Spain  the  variety  attains  much  greater  size,  requiring  only 
90.4  olives  to  weigh  a  pound;  we  have  no  figures  for  its  oil  contents 
in  other  European  countries. 

The  high  yield  of  oil  (the  maximum  for  the  common  varieties) 
and    its   habit   of   regular  bearing   make   the    Nevadillo    Blanco,  as 


25 

raised  on  the  varying  soils  of  many  different  localities  of  California, 
one  of  the  olives  best  adapted  for  oil  making.  Its  size  should  make 
it  as  desirable  for  pickling  as  the  Pendulina,  Uvaria,  Oblonga,  and 
Rubra,  but  the  Mission  being  larger,  is  considered  better  adapted  for 
the  purpose  in  question. 

Manzanillo. 

The  Manzanillo  is  found  throughout  Spain  and  South  France, 
where  we  are  told  it  requires  frequent  regular  pruning  to  insure 
regular  crops.  It  ripens  very  early  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  some- 
times in  October;  but  in  the  Bay  region  generally  in  November,  though 
sometimes  as  late  as  January. 

The  tree  is  vigorous  and  hardy;  the  branches  long,  curved,  arid  light 
colored.  The  secondary  branches  or  twigs  dry  up  when  the  fruit 
falls  prematurely,  which  is  frequent  in  Spain.  The  fruit  is  large  and 
apple-shaped,  sometimes  slightly  elongated. 

The  chief  difference  thus  far  noted  between  the  various  kinds  of 
Manzanillos  is  that,  in  some  cases,  the  apple-like  depression  at  the 
lower  extremity  of  the  fruit  is  more  marked  thau  in  others,  otherwise 
there  seems  to  be  little  real  difference. 

Thirty-eight  samples  of  the  variety  have  been  examined  here;  of 
this  number  five  were  received  from  the  culture  stations.  Taking  the 
average  for  the  several  regions  of  the  State,  it  is  found  that  the  fruit 
of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  while  the  largest  in  size,  82.3  to  the  pound, 
and  carrying  the  smallest  pit,  11.7  per  cent.,  has  but  little  more  oil  than 
that  from  Southern  California  (16.55  per  cent.)  and  a  smaller  amount 
(18.25  per  cent.)  than  the  fruit  from  the  Bay  region  with  20.86,  the 
Southern  Coast  Range  with  21.10,  or  the  Foothills  with  its  21.57  per 
cent. 

The  Foothill  fruit  is  medium  in  size,  111.4  olives  to  the  pound,  that 
from  the  Bay  region,  being  the  smallest,  averaging  141.3  per  pound. 
There  is  some  little  difference  in  the  pit-contents  of  these  fruits,  as 
they  have  respectively,  17.8  and  16  per  cent. 

The  Southern  Coast  Range  localities  produce  a  small-sized  fruit, 
123.4,  as  compared  with  that  from  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  with  82.3, 
and  that  from  Southern  California,  with  105.9  olives  per  pound.  But 
in  yield  of  oil  the  Southern  Coast  Range  fruit  is  superior,  showing  in 
the  flesh  2.9  per  cent  more  than  the  Valley  and  4.6  more  than  the 
Southern  California  Manzanillo. 

The  smallest  Manzanillos,  like  the  Missions,  come  from  the  Bay 
region,  where  upwards  of  140  fruits  of  each  of  these  varieties 
are  necessary  to  make  a  pound.  However,  the  Manzanillo  contains 
only  20.86  as  against  24.27  per  cent  of  oil  in  the  flesh  of  the  Mission. 

It  appears,  then,  that  for  oil-making  the  Manzanillo  from  the 
Sierra  Foothills  reaches  the  best  mark,  and  this  upon  a  well-drained, 
light  soil.  It  also  seems  to  do  fairly  well  for  oil-making  in  the 
Southern  Coast  Range  region,  although  the  Mission  olive  excels  it 
there  by  over  2  per  cent,  of  oil,  and  in  being  at  least  one-fifth  larger 
in  size. 

For  pickling  purposes  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Manzanillos  are 
superior  to  all  others  in  size;  in  pit  content,  or  waste,  they  contain 
several  per  cent  less  than  the  others,  and  within  about  one-half  of  one 


26 

per  cent,  of  that  (11.11)  reported  for  the  Manzanillo  in  its  native 
country  (Spain).  According  to  our  experiments  this  olive  should, 
after  passing  through  the  pickling  process,  retain  in  its  flesh  nearly 
as  much  nourishment  (oil)  as  we  have  found  in  the  fresh  Manzanillo 
of  the  south. 

Columbella. 
[Sometimes  called  Columella,  but  Columbella  seems  to  be  the  proper  name.] 

The  Columbella  was  imported  from  France  by  John  Rock,  of  Niles. 
The  general  form  of  the  fruit  is  broadly  oval,  y£  of  an  inch  long  and 
-fg-  of  an  inch  thick;  very  even  in  size,  and  remarkable  for  the  peculiar 
pale  yellow  color  that  the  fruit  assumes  before  turning  purple;  pit 
small,  y\  of  an  inch  long  and  fV  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  straight  and 
sharp-pointed.  The  pulp  in  pickling  seems  to  part  with  its  tartness 
slowly,  but  when  properly  prepared  has  a  delicious  flavor.  It  ripens 
late,  sometimes  after  the  broad-leaved  Mission. 

Twenty-five  samples  of  this  variety  have  been  examined,  and  of 
this  number  four  have  come  from  the  culture  stations  of  the  University. 
The  fruit  from  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  shows  the  highest  average 
amount  of  oil  in  the  flesh,  23.39  per  cent.;  the  greatest  departure 
from  this  being  that  found  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  fruit  which  had 
only  14.94  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh.  The  analyses  of  Columbella 
from  other  regions  show  the  following  results :  That  from  the  Foot- 
hills average  22.78  per  cent.,  the  Bay  region  21.61  per  cent.,  from 
Southern  California  21.37  per  cent.,  and  the  Southern  Coast  Range 
20.62  percent.  The  southern  fruit  is  the  largest;  the  Southern  Coast 
Range  averaging  82.8  and  the  Southern  California  92.8  olives  per 
pound,  both  being  over  twice  the  size  of  the  Bay  fruit,  which  requires 
163  olives  per  pound.  The  Sacramento,  Valley,  Foothill  and  San 
Joaquin  Valley  fruit  range  very  close  to  the  average  for  all,  viz.,  1]4 
per  pound. 

For  pickling,  the  chief  use  to  which  the  Columbella  is  put,  it  seems 
to  improve  towards  the  southern  districts,  where,  especially  in  the 
■Southern  Coast  Range,  it  resembles  the  Valley  Manzanillo  in  as  far  as 
its  size  goes.  In  localities  south  of  Sacramento,  it  appears  to  be  best 
adapted  for  oil  making,  although  it  is  not  as  rich  in  oil  as  the  Mission 
by  about  3  per  cent,  on  the  average.  Its  oil,  however,  is  of  very  good 
quality. 

Rubra. 

The  Rubra  was  imported  from  France,  by  John  Rock,  of  Niles. 
It  is  somewhat  like  the  Mission  in  general  appearance.  Fruit  ovate, 
slightly  oblique,  smaller  than  the  Mission,  Tf  of  an  inch  long,  yV  of 
an  inch  thick;  the  pit  straight,  pointed,  ye"  of  an  inch  long  and  i\  of 
an  inch  thick;  maturity  early,  ripening  from  three  weeks  to  one 
month  earlier  than  the  Mission;  jet-black  in  color  when  allowed  to 
hang  on  the  tree.     The  tree  begins  to  bear  early  and  is  quite  prolific. 

Out  of  thirty-five  samples  of  this  variety  examined  here,  three  lots 
were  received  from  the  University  culture  stations.  It  yields  its 
highest  average  of  oil,  28.47  per  cent.,  in  the  Sierra  Foothills;  that 
from  the  Southern  Coast  Range  averages  25.66  percent.;  from  the 
the  Bay,  Valley  and  Southern  California  regions,  the  flesh  of  the  fruit 
averages  about  21.0  per  cent,  of  oil,  or  just  about  1  per  cent,  below 


27 

the  average  for  all.  The  Sacramento  Valley  Rubras  are,  on  the 
whole,  the  poorest  in  oil-bearing",  showing  only  18.07  per  cent.,  but 
in  size  they  stand  second,  equaling  those  from  the  Southern  Coast 
Range,  with  170.1  olives  per  pound.  The  largest  fruit  of  this  variety 
is  produced  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  where  156.3  olives  make  a 
pound.  The  average  for  all  is  196.1.  In  the  Bay  region  the  Rubra 
is  very  small,  averaging  as  many  as  240.9  olives  to  the  pound.  By 
reference  to  the  small  table  giving  the  variations  between  largest  and 
smallest  fruit,  etc.,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Rubra  is  not  any  more 
variable  than  most  of  the  fully  tested' varieties. 

The  Rubra  yields  an  oil  of  superior  quality.  Like  the  Manzanillo, 
it  appears  to  be  best  adapted,  for  oil-making,  to  the  well-drained  soils 
of  the  Sierra  Foothills.  In  the  lower  and  richer  lands  of  all  the  other 
regions,  excepting  the  Coast  Range,  it  does  rather  poorly,  and  in 
these  places  it  never  reaches  the  mark  acquired  by  the  Mission. 

Redding  Picholine. 

The  Redding  Picholine.  was  imported  from  France  by  the  late 
B.  B.  Redding.  It  was  imported  for  the  large  pickling  olive  known  in 
France  as  the  Picholine,  and  very  highly  esteemed  there  for  that  pur- 
pose, as  well  as  for  the  small  quantity  of  high-grade  oil  it  yielded. 
For  a  long  time  it  was  supposed  that  the  Redding  Picholine  was,  after 
all,  the  true  Picholine  of  Europe.  Reference  to  the  description  of  the 
true  Picholine  will  show  that  this  is  an  error,  the  first  being  very 
much  smaller,  as  well  as  different  in  shape. 

The  olive  is  perfectly  oval  in  shape,  i\  of  an  inch  long  and  y^  of 
an  inch  thick;  it  ripens  early,  several  weeks  sooner  than  the  Mission;  is 
dark  purple  or  black  in  color.  In  pickling,  the  pulp  looses  its  bitter- 
ness quickly,  the  fruit  being  pleasant  to  the  taste. 

Out  of  the  forty- two  samples  of  this  variety  examined,  four  have 
come  from  the  culture  stations  of  the  University. 

In  production  of  oil,  the  Bay  region  fruit  leads,  as  we  find  its  flesh 
to  contain  an  average  of  24.43  per  cent.,  the  fruit  from  the  other 
regions  standing  as  follows:  Foothill,  21.79;  San  Joaquin  Valley, 
21.47;  Southern  Coast  Range,  21.63;  Sacramento  Valley,  19.51; 
Southern  California,  17.82;  the  general  average  being  20.83  per  cent, 
of  oil  in  the  flesh. 

The  largest  specimens,  on  the  average,  have  been  received  from  the 
north  of  Sacramento,  those  from  the  Foothill  region  requiring  322.5 
olives,  and  those  from  the  former  341.1  olives  to  the  pound.  The 
Coast  region  fruit  is  by  far  the  smallest,  especially  that  from  the 
southern  part  of  the  region,  where  as  many  as  452  olives  are  required 
to  weigh  a  pound.  The  general  average,  398.2  olives  to  the  pound,  is 
pretty  closely  followed  by  the  Bay  region  with  416.8,  the  Southern 
California  with  373.4,  and  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  with  353.3.  The 
Foothill  fruit  contains  the  least  pit,  20.8  per  cent.  Excepting  this, 
the  variations  on  either  side  of  the  general  average — 23.0  per  cent. 
— are  between  one  and  two  per  cent. 

Notwithstanding  the  rather  abundant  yield  of  oil  shown  by  this 
variety  from  all  over  the  State  (only  1.6  per  cent.,  on  the  average,  less 
than  the  Mission)  the  fact  that  its  oil  is  very  poor  in  qualitjr,  and 
because  of  the  extreme  difficulty  in  keeping  it  clear  and  brilliant,  it  is 


28 

undesirable  for  oil-making.  It  is  unsuitable  for  pickling,  not  alone 
because  it  is  the  smallest  of  all  the  commonly- grown  olives,  but  also 
because  it  has  such  a  large  pit. 

Having  gained  a  place  in  the  olive  orchards  of  the  State  by  being 
mistaken  for  the  true  Picholine  of  Europe,  it  only  remains  to  speak  of 
the  use  it  may  be  made  of,  and  this  is  best  given  perhaps  in  the  fol- 
lowing statement:  "The  tree  is  such  an  excellent  grafting  stock  that 
it  can  be  readily  grafted  into  just  as  prolific  varieties,  which  do  not 
possess  the  same  faults." 

Picholine  (True  Picholine  of  Europe). 

The  tree  is  of  medium  vigor  and  dimensions,  spreading  grower; 
trunk,  cylindrical;  bark  detaches  easily  from  the  trunk  in  regular 
strips;  branches  grow  horizontally,  or  with  a  slight  upward  inclina- 
tion; very  few  suckers;  foliage,  not  vigorous,  thick,  growing  at  right 
angles  to  the  main  stem,  of  a  yellowish  gray  color;  wood,  cylindrical, 
or  slightly  flattened;   eyes,  prominent. 

Leaves  oval,  frequently  wider  at  the  upper  part;  medium  length, 
and  above  medium  width  (5.5  to  6.5  centimeters  in  length,  or  2 ye-  to 
2 It  inches,  1.5  to  1.75  centimeters  in  width,  or  yf  to  |i  of  an  inch; 
upper  surface,  dull  deep  green;  lower  surface,  with  slight  dirty  white 
pubescence;  well  marked  nerves  on  lower  surface;  peduncle  thick, 
long,  straight.  The  leaf  is  flat  at  the  edges.  The  young  branches 
are  heavily  covered  with  leaves. 

The  fruit  is  generally  accumulated  near  the  lower  part  of  the  wood 
of  the  year,  single  or  in  bunches  of  two;  pedicels,  very  short;  stigma, 
persistent  in  a  very  slight  umbilicus.  The  fruit  is  above  the  usual 
size  (mean  length  2.5  to  3  centimeters,  or  1  inch  to  lyV  inches;  width 
1  to  1.5  centimeters,  or  yV  to  y-g-  of  an  inch.  The  form  is  ovoid  and 
elongated,  but  thickest  near  the  peduncle,  coming  to  a  point  near  the 
upper  extremity.  It  is  very  much  curved,  of  a  form  intermediate 
between  that  of  the  Lucques  on  one  hand,  and  the  Oliviere  on  the 
other.  The  fruit  passes  from  a  clear  green  to  a  reddish  black;  very 
little  bloom,  thin  skin.  Pit  small,  long,  and  pointed,  being  of  the 
same  shape  as  the  fruit;   maturity  medium. 

The  true  Picholine  is  widely  known  in  France,  especially  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Aix,  Tarascon,  and  Marseilles,  and  throughout  the 
Languedoc.  It  yields  good  crops  with  tolerable  regularity.  It  is  a 
variety  of  medium  hardiness,  but  stands  very  heavy  pruning.  In 
France  it  is  cultivated  chiefly  for  pickles,  although  it  yields  a  fair 
amount  of  high-grade  oil.  Its  great  delicacy  makes  it  highly  esteemed 
for  pickles,  which  are  generally  sold  under  the  name  of  Lucques.  It 
and  the  Verdale  are  the  best  eating  varieties  of  that  country. 

In  California  the  general  belief  seems  to  be  that  the  Picholine  is 
the  same  variety  as  the  Oblonga.  There  is  certainly  a  strong  resem- 
blance between  the  two.  Below  we  give  all  the  comparative  data  at 
hand  relating  to  the  analysis  of  the  Picholine  of  Europe  and  as  grown 
in  California ;  also  the  averages  for  thirty-two  samples  of  Oblonga  and 
forty-two  of  Redding  Picholine : 


29 


Analyses  of 

PlCHOLINES. 

PICHOLINE. 

Oblonga. 

Redding 

PlCHOLINE. 

France. 

California. 

(Average  of  two 

samples). 

California. 

California. 

Number  of  olives  per  pound.. 

Pit,  per  cent 

Oil,  per  cent,  in  flesh  

104.2 
10.9 
17.0 

77.00 
17.50 
21.18 

179.40 
18.70 
15.88 

398.20 
23.00 
20.83 

From  the  above,  it  seems  that  there  should  be  no  confusion  of  the 
true  Picholine  with  either  the  Oblonga,  or  the  Redding  Picholine. 
We  find  it  here  to  be  of  the  same  size,  grown  at  both  extremes 
(northern  and  southern)  of  the  regional  limits  of  the  olive,  and  with  a 
difference  of  only  four  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh.  As  is  to  be 
expected,  and  shown  above,  the  California  Picholine  is  considerably 
larger  than  that  grown  in  France,  and  yields,  on  the  average,  some  four 
per  cent,  more  of  oil. 

In  size,  the  Picholine,  with  77.0  olives  per  pound,  rates  favorably 
with  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  (Fresno)  Manzanillo,  which  requires  82.3 
olives  per  pound.  In  quantity  of  oil  in  the  flesh  it  leads  these  Manza- 
nillos  by  almost  three  per  cent.,  but  in  pit  it  falls  behind,  having  more 
by  5.8  per  cent. — just  about  the  difference  recorded  above  for  the  Picho- 
lines  of  France  and  California.  Compared  with  the  Lucques  of 
California  growth,  our  Picholine  is  over  twice  as  large,  and  in  nearly 
every  case  carries  less  pit.  The  only  sample  out  of  six  Lucques  which 
has  more  oil  than  the  Picholine  is  that  from  Amador  with  24.53  per 
cent.  The  Lucques  is  a  variety  frequently  confounded  with  the 
Picholine,  and  is  known  mostly  in  Europe  in  localities  where  pickling 
is  the  chief  industry. 

The  Picholine  with  us  excels  the  Verdale  in  size,  for  it  takes  114.5 
olives  of  the  latter,  on  the  average,  to  weigh  a  pound.  But  the  Ver- 
dale has  a  smaller  pit  and  is  higher  in  oil  by  one  per  cent  in  each  case 
than  the  Picholine.  The  Verdale  is  a  Languedoc  variety  found 
throughout  France  and  highly  esteemed  for  pickles. 

The  Sevillano,  the  largest  olive  examined  here  and  one  of  the 
largest  olives  known,  attains  a  size  double  that  of  the  true  Picholine; 
requiring  only  36  as  against  77  Picholine  olives  per  pound,  and  this 
with  a  materially  smaller  pit.  In  oil  content  there  is  practically  no 
choice  between  these  two  varieties.  The  Sevillano  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia grows  to  be  as  large  as  in  Spain. 

The  records  relating  to  these  preeminently  pickling  varieties,  while 
meagre,  at  least  offer  a  sufficient  reason  for  recommending  them  to  the 
grower  for  more  general  trial. 

Oblonga. 

The  Oblonga  was  imported  from  France  by  John  Rock,  of  Niles. 
It  is  an  olive  of  peculiar  club-like  shape,  being  narrow  at  the  stem 
end,  broad  at  the  upper  end,  rounded  and  slightly  oblique,  yf  of  an 
inch  long  and  yV  of  an  inch  thick.  The  pit  is  curved,  -fi  of  an  inch 
long  by  tw  of  an  inch  thick,  and  generally  pointed  at  both  ends.     The 


30 

pulp  loses  its  tartness  comparatively  quickly  in  pickling,  and  is  very 
pleasant  to  the  taste;  this  recommends  it  especially  as  a  pickling 
variety.  It  ripens  at  least  two  weeks  earlier  than  the  common  broad- 
leaved  Mission.  Its  color  is  dark  purple.  It  is  commonly  supposed 
that  the  Oblonga  is  the  same  as  the  true  Picholine  of  Europe,  but  there 
seems  to  be  but  little  foundation  for  this  belief,  as  the  two  varieties 
are  quite  distinct. 

Thirty-two  lots  of  this  variety  have  been  examined;  out  of  this 
number  five  were  from  the  University  culture  stations. 

In  oil  the  Southern  Coast  Range  fruit  leads,  with  an  average  of 
19.05  per  cent,  in  the  flesh;  but  shows  little  advantage  over  the 
Southern  California  fruit  which  has  an  average  of  17.99  per  cent. 
Coming  north  into  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  region,  it  is  found  that  the 
oil  content,  12.25  per  cent.,  falls  below  that  noted  above.  The  olives 
of  the  Bay  region  and  the  Sacramento  Valley  both  show  higher  con- 
tents of  oil  (respectively  16.48  and  15.64  per  cent.)  than  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley;  the  general  average  is  15.68  per  cent.  The  fruit  is  a 
little  larger  in  the  Sacramento  region  than  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
or  in  Southern  California,  the  figures  being  respectively  135,9,  142 
and  154  olives  per  pound;  from  the  Bay  region  212,  and  from  the 
Southern  Coast  Range  193.5  olives  are  required  for  a  pound.  There 
is  little  variation  in  pit  content  in  the  fruit  from  the  different  regions ; 
the  average  being  18.7  per  cent. 

Although  the  quality  of  this  oil  is  very  good,  this  variety  is  not  at 
all  well  adapted  to  the  Great  Valley  region  for  oil-making;  and  at 
best  is  not  more  than  medium  for  the  purpose.  For  pickling  the 
Valley  fruit  would  be  the  best  if  size  were  alone  considered,  but  its 
low  oil-content  would  not  indicate  a  very  nourishing  product;  there- 
fore, all  things  considered,  the  Oblonga  from  the  south  would  appear 
to  be  the  best.  It  has  the  reputation  of  having  a  delicately  flavored 
flesh.  One  of  its  peculiarities  seems  to  be  that  the  volume  of  the  flesh 
diminishes  very  much  during  the  process  of  pickling;  so  that  when 
pickled,  the  precentage  of  pit  seems  to  be  greater  than  that  indicated 
by  analysis. 

Uvaria. 

The  Uvaria  was  imported  by  John  Rock  from  France.  The  fruit 
is  oval,  regular,  and  rounded  at  both  ends,  if  of  an  inch  long  and  ye 
of  an  inch  in  thickness;  pit  straight  and  heavy,  xf  of  an  inch  in 
length  and  yV  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  It  ripens  later  than  the 
common  Mission  olive;  color  is  dark  purple  or  black  when  ripe.  The 
name,  "grape-like"  is  well  chosen,  the  fruit  growing  in  clusters,  as 
many  as  seven  together  and  resemble  the  grape  in  shape.  The 
Uvaria  is  very  prolific. 

Twenty-nine  samples  of  this  variety  have  been  examined  at  this 
laboratory;  of  these,  three  were  grown  at  the  University  culture 
stations.  The  Foothill,  Southern  California  and  Bay  fruits  each 
average  20.5  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh;  Sacramento  Valley  and 
Southern  California  fruits  both  average  17.5  per  cent.,  and  that  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  15.4  per  cent,  of  oil;  the  average  for  the  Uvaria 
from  all  localities  is  18.51  per  cent.  The  largest  fruit  comes  from  the 
Southern  Coast  Range,  133.6  olives  to  the  pound,  the  smallest  from 


31 

the  Bay  region  where  258.9  olives  weigh  a  pound;  in  the  other  regions 
the  general  average  is  205.1  olives  per  pound.  In  pit  content  the 
Uvaria  exceeds  all  other  common  varieties,  carrying  8  per  cent,  more 
than  either  the  average  Mission  or  Nevadillo. 

Its  low  yield  of  oil  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  would  mean  that  it 
is  a  poor  variety  for  oil-making  there,  and  even  where  it  does  its  best, 
it  never  comes  up  to  the  Mission. 

Pendulina. 

The  Pendulina  was  imported  by  John  Rock  from  France.  The 
fruit  is  of  an  even  oval  shape,  rounded  at  both  ends,  quite  variable  in 
size,  many  fruits  remaining  small  and  undeveloped;  it  is  if  of  an 
inch  long  and  -re  of  an  inch  thick;  the  pit  re  of  an  inch  long,  TV  of 
an  inch  thick,  exclusive  of  the  small,  sharp  points  often  found  at  both 
ends.  The  fruit  grows  in  clusters  of  two  to  five;  the  pulp  parts  very 
readily  with  its  tartness.  This  variety  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  Pendoulier,  which  is  somewhat  larger  and  more  of  an  ovate  shape. 

Twenty-two  samples  of  this  variety  have  been  tested;  five  from  the 
culture  stations  of  the  University.  For  oil-making  the  Pendulina  is 
found  to  reach  its  best  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  where  it 
averages  23.0  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh.  In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
it  apparently  does  not  produce  a  high  amount  of  oil,  giving  only 
18.21  per  cent,  on  the  average,  which  is  considerably  less  than  is 
yielded  bv  the  fruit  from  the  Sacramento  Valley  (21.88)  and  Southern 
California  (22.11). 

For  pickling,  the  Southern  California- grown  Pendulina  is  the  best, 
because  of  its  size;  but  in  this  it  falls  much  below  the  southern  Mission, 
for  141.3  are  required  to  make  a  pound,  while  only  100.2  of  the  Mission 
are  necessary. 

Razzo. 

The  Razzo  is  mainly  cultivated  in  the  Province  of  Lucca  and  Pisa, 
together  with  Mignolo,  Moraiolo,  and  Grossaio.  The  fruit  is  round- 
ish, fleshy,  and  contains  more  oil  (in  Italy)  than  any  of  the  native 
Italian  varieties,  on  which  account  it  is  called  by  the  peasants 
"frantoiano,"  or  oil-press  olive.  The  Razzo  commences  to  ripen  in 
November  or  December.  The  soils  that  suit  it  best  are  those  that  are 
deep,  rich,  and  well-drained.  It  suffers  from  the  cold,  fog,  and  winds 
of  the  lowlands,  prefering  the  protected  hillsides.  Though  it  is 
exceptionally  fertile,  it  drops  its  fruit  very  readily,  especially  when 
exposed  to  winds  or  prolonged  hot  spells. 

In  California  this  fruit,  from  seven  widely  separated  localities 
(from  Central  to  Southern  California)  shows  the  highest  average  yield 
of  oil,  32.82  per  cent.,  from  the  Santa  Clara  Valley;  at  Pomona  it 
averages  30.30;  in  the  Sierra  Foothills,  26.76;  and  at  Tulare,  in  the 
Great  Valley,  it  produces  only  23.48  per  cent,  of  oil.  The  general 
average  of  ten  samples  is  28.48  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the  flesh.  Like  most 
of  the  Italian  varieties  grown  here,  it  averages  in  size  about  one-half 
that  of  the  Mission;  but  it  contains  more  pit  than  the  latter,  carrying 
24.3  per  cent. 

As  compared  with  the  Grossaio,  grown  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
the  Razzo  produces  a  little  less  oil,  1.50  per  cent,  on  the  average, 


32 

while  Pomona-grown  Grossaio  falls  below  the  average  Razzo  some  5.0 
per  cent,  in  oil. 

The  Gucco  averages  at  Santa  Barbara  34.0  per  cent,  of  oil  in  the 
flesh,  or  1.3  per  cent,  more  than  the  best  Razzo,  i.e.,  that  of  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley.  At  Pomona,  the  Cucco,  with  31.7  per  cent,  and  the 
Razzo,  with  30.5  per  cent.,  appear  to  be  very  much  alike  in  oil  pro- 
duction. In  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  it  does  poorly,  averaging  only  21 
per  cent. 

The  Gorregiolo,  at  Santa  Barbara,  averaged,  for  four  different 
seasons,  32.52  per  cent,  of  oil,  a  figure  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Razzo 
at  its  best  in  California.  In  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  it  produces  24  per 
cent.,  while  at  Tulare,  in  the  Great  Valley,  it  attains  but  18.81  per 
cent,  of  oil. 

The  Leccino,  a  hardy  Tuscan  variety,  which  produces  in  its 
native  home  a  low-grade  oil — one  hard  to  clarify  and  of  inferior  taste — 
gives  its  highest  yield  of  oil,  35.12  per  cent.,  at  Santa  Barbara, 
the  average  being  30  per  cent.  Other  southern  localities,  Pomona  and 
Orange,  show  nearly  31  per  cent,  of  oil.  In  the  North  it  falls  below 
this  some  five  per  cent.,  carrying  but  26  per  cent,  of  oil. 

As  far  as  the  record  goes,  these  Italian  varieties,  away  from  the 
Great  Valley  and  especially  on  the  low  mesa  soils  where  they  have 
received  the  most  attention,  give  great  promise  of  becoming  of  high 
importance  for  oil-making.  Generally,  they  yield  oil  of  the  highest 
quality;  which  should  also  commend  them  to  the  grower  for  more 
general  and  extensive  trial. 

Variation  in  Size  of  Fruit,  Amount  of  Pit  and  Oil. 

The  following  table  shows  the  variation  in  size,  amount  of  pit  and 
oil  in  the  flesh  in  some  of  the  common  varieties  of  olives.  The  figures 
are  so  arranged  as  to  indicate  the  relative  differences  between  mini- 
mum and  maximum  with  regard  to  size,  amount  of  pit  and  percentage 
of  oil  in  the  flesh,  in  each  variety,  the  minimum  being  the  unit. 
Ratio  of  Smallest  to  Largest  Fruit,  Pit  and  Oil  in  the  Flesh. 


Variety. 


Mission 

Nevadillo  Blanco  .. 

Manzanillo 

Redding  Picholine 

Columbella  

Pendulina 

Rubra  

Uvaria . 

Oblonga  

Atro-violaeea  

Praecox 

Atro-rubens  

Polymorpha 

Nigerina 

Regalis 


Size  of 
Fruit. 


Amount 
of  Pit. 


1:4.0 
1:  3.7 
1:  3.9 
1:  2.4 
1:4.0 
1:2.0 
1:3.1 
1:2.8 
1:3.0 
1:  1.7 


3.5 

2.7 
2.5 
4.2 
2.6 


2.1 
1.9 
2.5 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
1.4 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.5 
1.6 
1.4 
2.8 
1.7 


Oil  in 
Flesh. 


1:2.5 
1:2.4 
1:  2.7 
1:  3.9 


2.2 
3.1 
2.9 
2.5 
4.3 
3.5 
2.5 
1.7 
2.2 
1.7 
1.9 


From  whatever  cause  these  variations  arise,  lack  of  harmony  of  the 
variety  with  its  locality,  or  the  insufficiency  of  analytical  data,  it  is  a 


33 

difficult  matter,  if  not  an  impossible  one,  to  name  the  variety  which,  on 
the  whole,  presents  the  least  variations.  For  example,  the  best  known 
variety,  the  Mission,  shows  comparatively  great  variation  in  size  of 
fruit  and  only  medium  variation  in  oil  and  pit.  The  Redding  Picho- 
line,  on  the  other  hand,  reverses  the  order  of  variation,  and  shows  a 
greater  variation,  comparatively,  in  the  matter  of  oil-bearing,  than  in 
the  quantity  of  pit  or  size  of  fruit. 

The  selection  of  proper  varieties  for  planting  in  California  is  thus 
shown  to  have  received  as  yet  only  a  part  of  the  careful  attention  that 
the  question  demands.  The  necessity  for,  and  the  importance  of,  the 
work  undertaken  by  the  Station  in  bringing  out  and  presenting  all  the 
various  characteristics  is  forcibly  shown. 

The  table  of  averages  by  varieties,  page  34,  gives  the  number  of 
samples,  the  size  of  the  fruit,  the  pit  content,  and  the  per  cent,  of  oil 
in  the  drupe,  flesh,  and  pit  of  the  various  olives  examined  in  the 
Station  laboratory.  This  summary,  together  with  the  foregoing 
record,  will  afford  a  guide  to  the  more  intelligent  use  of  the  detailed 
record  of  analyses  already  in  the  hands  of  the  interested  grower,  when 
studying  varieties  and  making  selections  suitable  to  his  soil,  location, 
and  climate. 

In  reviewing  the  record  relating  to  the  Mission,  Nevadillo  Blanco, 
Redding  Picholine,  Uvaria,  Manzanillo,  Oblonga,  Rubra,  Columbella, 
and  Pendulina,  there  are  sufficient  data  to  warrant  the  statement  that 
these  varieties  as  grown  in  the  Bay  region  are  all  of  smaller  size  than 
those  from  any  of  the  other  regions  of  the  State,  out  generally  they  bear 
the  largest  percentages  of  oil — in  some  of  them  the  average  is  even 
higher  than  those  of  the  same  varieties  in  the  Sierra  Foothills.  It 
would  seem,  then,  that  the  cool  bay  climate  does  not  affect  the  proper 
functioning  of  the  drupe  of  these  varieties. 

In  the  Sacramento  Valley  on  the  north  and  in  Southern  California  on 
the  south,  these  olives  have  about  the  same  size  and  the  same  richness 
in  oil,  showing  that  the  climatic  influences  of  the  two  sections  are 
about  alike;  and  that  the  natural  moisture  in  the  northern  soils  off- 
sets that  furnished  by  irrigation  in  the  south.  The  Southern  Coast 
Range  fruit  has  a  more  even  distribution  of  the  qualities  in  question, 
for  it  produces  a  fairly  large  fruit  with  more  oil.  In  size,  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley  olives  (excepting  the  Manzanillo,  the  largest  fruit  of 
those  named,)  may  be  said  to  resemble  the  Southern  California  fruit; 
with  a  tendency,  on  the  whole,  to  yield  less  oil. 

The  records  of  analyses  of  the  olives  of  the  unusually  dry  season  of 
1894-95  show  that  this  fruit  was  poor  in  size  and  quantity  of  oil. 
The  results  of  the  work  upon  the  olives  of  the  present  season  will 
undoubtedly  furnish  some  additional  interesting  information  in  regard 
to  the  influence  of  a  dry  season  upon  the  olive.  The  work  will,  of 
course,  not  be  as  extensive  as  formerly,  for  the  reason  that  many  com- 
plaints of  "failure  of  crop"  reach  the  Station  this  year. 


Averages  by  Olive  Varieties. 


Variety. 


Number  of 

Samples 
Examined. 


Size, 

Number 

of  Olives 

Per  Pound. 


Pit, 

per 

cent. 


Per  cent,  of  Oil. 


In  Whole 
Fruit. 


In 

Flesh. 


In  Pit, 
referred    to 
whole  fruit. 


Varieties  Fully  Tested. 

Mission 

Nevadillo  Blanco 

Manzanillo  

Redding  Picholine 

Uvaria 

Kubra 

Oblonga 

Columbella 

Pendulina 


Varieties  not  yet  Fully 
Tested. 

Atro-violacea 

Praecox  

Polymorpha  

Macroearpa 

Salonica 

Regalis 

Nigerina  

Atro-rubens 

Corregiolo 

Razzo 

Frantoio 

Morinello 

Cucco  

Leccino 

Piangente 

Grossaio 

Palazzuolo 

Morchiaio  

Infrantoio  

Moraiolo  

Lavignano  

Mignolo 

Lueques   

P]eureur  de  Grasse 

Verdale  

Picholine 

Ascolano 

Caillon 

Obliza  Pendulier 

Obliza 

Amellau  

Amygdalina 

Empeltre 

Hervaza 

Bella  di  Spagna 

Huff's  Spanish 

Olea  Maria 

Sweet  Olive 

Bellamonte 

Dalmatian 

Ascoli   


"<<^ueen77  

Santa  Caterina 

Sevillano 

Attica 

Olivastro  

Rufa 

Evatella 


112 
57 
38 
42 
29 
35 
32 
25 
22 


19 
15 
14 
12 
9 
12 
12 
11 
II 
10 
7 
8 
8 
7 
5 
6 
5 
4 
1 
3 
4 
1 
6 
7 
5 
2 
5 
2 
1 
5 
4 
2 
3 
3 
2 
2 
2 
3 
2 
2 
2 
2 
5 
2 
1 
2 
2 
1 


111.6 


157. 

106. 

398. 

205. 

196. 

179. 

114.6 

157.1 


206.6 
196.1 
71.9 
72.8 
166.2 
112.5 
160.0 
115.4 
262.7 
216.5 
298.9 
287.9 
192.9 
245.5 
308.0 
242.3 
272.1 
238.2 
375.0 
333.4 
239.6 
227.0 
192.9 
171.2 
114.5 
77.0 
60.6 
178.5 
176.3 
105.2 
120.0 
76.9 
111.4 
197.0 
151.4 
425.8 
194.7 
213.9 
157.1 
120.0 
113.2 
140. 
100. 
36. 
176. 
160. 
219. 
162. 


17.2 
17.3 
14.7 
23.0 
25.5 
17.9 
18.7 
16.6 
13.7 


22.5 
19.2 
17.1 
17.5 
16.1 
16.3 
17.5 
16.9 
25.8 
24.3 
25.9 
23.1 
21.1 
21.7 
21.4 
25.7 
22.2 
23.0 
30.0 
33.0 
24.2 
12.0 
23.0 
18.5 
16.7 
17.5 
12.0 
20.0 
20.0 
14.6 
16.5 
15.0 
15.7 
15.0 
22.5 
25.0 
20.5 
15.3 
20.0 
17.5 
16.0 
24.0 
18.2 
14.5 
20.0 
25.0 
17.0 
17.0 


17.56 
19.21 
16.94 
16.18 
13.71 
18.58 
13.34 
15.59 
18.63 


17.55 
14.34 
15.85 
14.70 
20.04 
16.37 
19.96 
19.14 
21.15 
21.10 
24.10 
21.60 
27.22 
22.45 
16.71 
23.96 
29.34 
29.34 
19.31 
21.74 
24.28 
16.50 
14.81 
22.04 
19.05 
17.83 
16.26 
16.95 
12.33 
11.23 
15.67 
19.90 
19.86 
14.39 
18.75 
16.50 
17.85 
12.04 
17.74 
15.92 
16.89 
27.67 
17.91 
17.23 
15.91 
21.55 
20.36 
23.85 


22.51 
22.92 
19.73 
20.83 
18.51 
22.01 
15.68 
19.54 
21.36 


22.40 
17.75 
18.82 
20.41 
23.60 
19.58 
26.16 
25.59 
27.68 
28.42 
33.94 
28.90 
34.38 
28.50 
21.16 
32.78 
37.70 
37.99 
27.58 
32.22 
31.90 
18.70 
17.21 
26.65 
22.53 
21.18 
18.45 
21.19 
15.41 
13.42 
16.51 
23.41 
22.93 
17.22 
23.94 
21.99 
22.83 
13.96 
20.30 
18.92 
19.72 
36.30 
20.09 
20.19 
19.79 
28.79 
24.54 
28.73 


.61 
.99 
.55 
1.52 
1.07 
.75 
.85 
.60 
.96 


1.08 
.84 
.88 
.70 
.55 
.96 

1.06 
.75 

1.24 
.84 

1.00 

1.00 
.70 
.95 
.86 

1.03 
.67 
.36 


1.45 


1.09 
.74 

.65 

.72 
.57 


.37 

.59 


.75 
.37 


.99 

.77 


.63 
.54 


.52 
.40 


..     .JZ 


i  2  :; 

The  Olive  Knot 

1.  —  Small  knots  on  under  side  of  leaves. 

'2.  —  Large  knots  on  small  branch,  as  commonly  seen  on  vigorous  trees  when  first 
attacked. 


Knot  on  leaf-stalk 


